A Typical Pokemon Journey
by Ohfortheloveofpete
Summary: Just your standard Pokémon fanfic...or not.
1. Chapter 1: Start Of A Journey

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_Guess what! I've decided to create a story with a non-indicative name...what? Did you think this story was going to live up to its name?_

_Well guess what...it's not...I'm going to poke fun at Pokemon (both the anime and the video games) and all its general tropes...generally, it's going to be a parody of sorts..._

_It's not going to be an offensive story though...I'm not going to go that far with it...so I'm sorry if I've disappointed you in that regard. Ah well. Let's sit back and enjoy the show!_

**Chapter 1: Start Of A Journey**

Late at night, deep inside Celadon City, there was something sinister cooking inside the Rocket Game Corner...underneath the Game Corner to be precise.

As it turns out, Team Rocket was once again up to no good...this time, they were currently planning to kidnap a young girl and to extort her parents out of their money.

Several Team Rocket admins and higher-ups were sitting at a black table with a red R on it, waiting to hear the commands of their master, Giovanni, who was sitting in his personal chiar, ready to explain the plan.

"Greetings, my minions. I hope you're looking forward to the thought of being a millionaire, because today is the day that we're going to make a million dollars!" explained Giovanni.

"We're going to make a million dollars today? That's a bit much even considering how much you pay us..." inquired one of the admins.

"That we are...and we've got the means to do it, too! Why do you think I called you all here for?" answered Giovanni, handing each of the admins a picture.

"We're going after a young girl? I thought we were going to go after a rare Pokemon like we usually do." inquired another one of the admins.

"Good guess, but no. And it's not just any girl. Believe it or not, she's part of one of the richest families around...the seventh-richest family in the world, in fact. Specifically, she's part of the Hisakawa family... If we can capture her, we'll be able to get her family to do whatever we want...which in this case is to give us a nice chunk of cash." explained Giovanni.

"Now we get it. We're going to hold someone for ransom! Wicked plan, boss!" cheered the admins.

"Yes yes, I know how despicable this plan is going to be. But it's also a rather simple task...so it shall be a task we'll be entrusting to one of our grunts. In fact, we shall be entrusting it to the newest member of our group...who shall be arriving right this minute." said Giovanni.

Sure enough, a Team Rocket Grunt arrived in the room, ready to await the instructions of his master.

"You rang?" inquired the lastest member of Team Rocket.

"Isn't he a little young to be a Team Rocket grunt? I heard that he's only twelve years old..." inquired one of the admins.

"Yes he is...but we never actually set an age limit for the organization to be honest. It's not like we're friends with the local police force, you know." explained Giovanni.

"Oh, right...how could we have forgotten about that." noted another one of the admins.

"Yeah, Officer Jenny is our sworn enemy." answered yet another admin.

"And she's everywhere! It's like she's omnipresent or something!" nodded one of their scientists.

The admins and scientists all shivered in revulsion.

"Your name is Jake, last name Kurosawa, is it not?" inquired Giovanni.

"Yes, sir. That happens to be my name...I'm glad that you remembered it." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Well then Jake...I'll going to give you an offer you can't refuse...I want you to bring me a little something special..." said Giovanni, handing the picture of his target.

"You're sending me on a kidnapping mission? But I've only been working for you for a week...don't you think this is a bit much for me?" inquired Jake.

"Well Jake...I'll have you know that if you successfully complete the mission, I'll give you a profit of the cut...how does a thousand dollars sound?" explained Giovanni.

"A thousand dollars? Well, if you think I'm cut out for the job...I suppose I'll accept." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Very good! Here is the address to her estate." said Giovanni as he also handed her address to the Grunt.

"Hopefully I'll be seeing you soon!" said the leader of Team Rocket as he gave Jake his farewells.

"Sheesh...I've only been part of Team Rocket for a week, and already they're sending me on a mission to get a million dollars...what is the world coming to?" thought Jake as he went on the mission.

_Meanwhile, at the Hisakawa Mansion..._

Lucy Hisakawa was having trouble falling asleep and heading off to Dreamland. Why you may ask? Well, tommorrow was the day that she was finally going to get to a Pokemon Trainer...it was going to be a pretty big day for her, and it wasn't going to be an easy wait.

Normally, she would have gone on a Pokemon journey at the age of 10...but since her parents were rather protective of her (possibly a bit overprotective, in fact, but she didn't really mind), they insisted that she waited until she was eleven years old before she started her Pokemon adventure.

Fortunately, though she was rather ditzy (much like a certain Pokemon trainer that owned a PIkachu), she was smart enough not to destroy her alarm clock by mistaking it for a Pokeball, and had in fact had placed it in a place far away from her bed where she would be unable to reach it in her sleep.

"Life is good." she thought. Still, she got the strange feeling that her life was going to change forever soon, and it wasn't simply because she was going to get a Pokemon Trainer license. Why was she getting that feeling?

Curiously, she decided to look out the window and see if there was anything unusual happening outside. Fortunately, there was not...in fact, things seemed pretty normal. Then again, it was pretty quiet outside.

She was well-aware that Professor Oak was handing out free starter Pokemon to those that wanted to go out and challenge the Pokemon League, so she decided that Pallet Town would be a good place to stop first as any.

Her parents had trusted her with a precious sum of money to assist her on her pokemon journey, so getting the supplies she needed to capture Pokemon shouldn't be much of a problem.

Suddenly, Lucy noticed that there was a shooting star crashing to the ground not too far from her house. She nearly jumped in surprise. Curious, she decided to make a wish. Now was an opportunity as any.

"I sure wish that I could make it to the Pokemon League...that would be awesome..." murmured Lucy as she finally went to bed.

_Meanwhile, outside of the Hisakawa Mansion..._

As it turns out, a wild Clefairy had learned a valuable lesson about paying attention to her surroundings when she was flying her spaceship.

"Clefairy, Clefairy, Clefairy..." she murmured.

How she could have been so careless? She had been flying so well just a few hours ago...how had things gone downhill so fast?

She wondered if her spaceship license was going to be confiscated for her reckless behavior. She in fact dreaded the thought.

But for now, she decided that the best thing that she could do was look for things that she could use to repair her spaceship with. She had to admit, there was a surprisingly large amount of objects that could be used to get it airborne again.

The only question was where exactly she should look. Surely there would be many different possibilities.

Should she try searching into the nearby forest? She might be able to find something...though she doubted she'd be able to find metal there.

Suddenly, she noticed that there was a mansion nearby, and she promptly blessed her good fortune. With a building of that size, finding what she needed would be a breeze.

"Clefairy!" cheered the wild Clefairy.

Unfortunately, she didn't consider the possibility that there would be three human beings living inside the building as she advanced towards the mansion.

_Well, it looks like a Pokemon Trainer is getting ready to set out on her pokemon Journey...but it looks like things aren't going to be so simple...a Team Rocket Grunt is after her so that he can extort money from her...and a Clefairy is ready to wreak havoc in her own home before she even sets forth to Pallet Town..._

_Basically, just because she's well-off doesn't mean that she isn't going to undergo hardship...sorry, but I'm trying my best not to create a Mary Sue here...even if this pokes fun at Pokemon every now and then..._

_And in case it's not obvious, Jake and Lucy here are going to be some of the main characters in the story...they're two out of the four main characters in fact...you'll be encountering the other two soon enough..._

_Oh, and you're probably wondering...why am I making a Team Rocket Grunt one of the protagonists? Everyone knows that Team Rocket are bad dudes...well, soon enough, he's going to start to become a good guy...though his history as a Team Rocket Grunt is still going to haunt him eventually..._

_As for whether Jake and Lucy are the main protagonist of my fanfic overall...use your imagination!_

_So what do you think of this story so far? Feel free to leave me a review! It's obliged! Thank you and goodbye!_


	2. Chapter 2: Starter Pokemon

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, Lucy's going to receive her first Pokemon...but it's not going to be one of Professor Oak's starters...it's going to be a different Pokemon entirely..._

_As for Jake...well guess what? He has a starter Pokemon already...can you guess what it is? I'll give you a few hints...it doesn't smell too good...and it's one of the Pokemon Team Rocket Grunts typically use..._

_Oh, and it is a Generation I pokemon...since you know, this story takes place in Kanto. Of course, if I decide to write a sequel to this story, I'll be moving on to other regions...that's assuming of course you enjoy the story and it gets popular enough...just wanted to let you guys know._

_Oh, and I'll be introducing another main character in this story...don't expect her to be girly like Lucy...she's basically her polar opposite in fact...so keep that in mind, will you? She'll be getting her starter Pokemon shortly..._

**Chapter 2: Starter Pokemon**

When Lucy woke up, she expected it to be the sound of her alarm clock...which thankfully she had not destroyed during one of her wild dreams of being a Pokemon Trainer.

Instead, it was the sound of her mother's screaming.

Curious, she decided to leave her bedroom to see what was going on, even though she was still in her pink pajamas.

As it turned out, there was a wild Pokemon wreaking havoc in her own home. She promptly dropped her jaw in shock.

"How did it get past our security systems?!" exclaimed her mother.

"It must have been pretty smart if it found a way to disable them..." noted her father.

Curious, she decided to take a closer look...and noticed that the wild Pokemon in question was a Clefairy. Could it have anything to do with that shooting star she saw last night? She heard that for some strange reason, sightings of Clefairy typically increased whenever one of them appeared in the sky.

As it turned out, the wild Clefairy appeared to be collecting things...unfortunately, it was being rather messy about it. Plates had been smashed, food had fallen on the floor, and even a few chairs had been turned over.

Yet for some strange reason, Lucy found the havoc the wild Pokemon was causing to be hilarious. She suddenly collapsed on the floor and started laughing.

Curious, her parents decided to walk over to her to see if she was alright. Oddly enough, the wild Clefairy stopped the havoc she was causing to see what was going on.

"What's so funny?" inquired Lucy's father.

"It's the mess the Clefairy is making...for some strange reason, I just can't help but laugh!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Well, admittedly, part of me is finding this to be ridiculous myself...but we're still calling Pokemon control!" answered Lucy's mother.

The wild Clefairy promptly whimpered. She in fact had not meant to cause trouble...though admittedly she had made quite a mess in her searching for supplies to repair her spaceship with.

"Aww..." murmured the disappointed Pokemon trainer in the making.

Lucy was fairly upset. She couldn't believe that her parents were actually going to lock the cute-looking wild Pokemon away. It even bore a resemblance to her to an extent, considering the fact that a few of her acquaintances told her how adorable she looked.

There had to be something to do, but what?

Suddenly, she got an idea.

"Wait mom! I know what to do with the wild Pokemon!" exclaimed Lucy.

"What do you propose, honey?" inquired Lucy's mother.

"I was thinking maybe it could be my starter." inquired the future Pokemon trainer.

"What?!" Lucy's parents both exclaimed.

"I figure that if I manage to catch the wild Pokemon, it'll be out of your way...and I'll have a buddy to head to the Pokemon League with." explained Lucy.

"Well, you have a good point there...but you do realize that it's going to be incredibly destructive, am I right?" inquired Lucy's father.

"Funny, I also seem to recall your Growlithe acting much the same way when you started off being a Pokemon Trainer...you said that it eventually stopped misbehaving and started listening to your commands, am I right?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's father sighed.

"You make a good point, and I'm convinced. But you'll need to take care of it and make sure it doesn't get into trouble, do I understand?" he inquired.

"Yes, we're clear." answered the Pokemon trainer in the making.

"Well then, toss this Pokeball at the wild Pokemon for me then, will you? This is going to be a pretty important skill for you to learn in the near future." explained Lucy's father.

Lucy nodded, and flung the Pokeball as hard as she could.

This worked surprisingly well. Though the wild Clefairy was rather surprised at the projectile being flung towards her, it did not put up much of a struggle and was caught rather easily.

"Gotcha!" squealed Lucy.

"Very good. Now keep in mind that what you just saw was a fluke. Usually in order to capture a Pokemon you're going to have to weaken it first." explained Lucy's father.

"Got it." nodded the female Pokemon trainer in the making.

"Good. Now, I want you to get ready to go get your Pokemon license. Everyone knows that you won't be able to become a Pokemon trainer without one." explained Lucy's dad.

"Right, of course!" answered Lucy as she went to get dressed.

Sure enough, Lucy changed out of her pajamas and changed into something more practical for travel...in this case, it was a hat with a Pokeball on it. She also chose to dress in a pink shirt and a pink skirt, since pink was her favorite color.

"Alright!" cheered the future Pokemon trainer.

But as it turns out, Lucy's mother had a checklist for her to complete before she drove her to the Pokemon license station.

"Oh, right...how could I have forgotten about that? Thanks, mom!" exclaimed Lucy.

Unsurprisingly, one of the tasks on the list was to brush her teeth, as well as her hair. After all, the other Pokemon trainers wouldn't be impressed if she didn't look too good.

But as soon as she stepped into the bathroom, something unexpected happened.

"What the-" Lucy exclaimed.

As it turns out, her Clefairy had managed to escape from her Pokeball, and was now standing in the bathroom with her.

"How'd you get out of there?" she inquired.

Her Clefairy promptly tapped on her own head.

"You used your brain? That's good...now if you excuse me, I need to get ready." said Lucy as she started brushing her teeth.

For some strange reason, her Clefairy crawled onto the sink and started doing the exact same thing.

"What the-you want to brush your teeth too? But you're a Pokemon..." inquired Lucy. For a Pokemon that had only stopped being wild a few minutes ago, her Clefairy seemed rather intelligent.

Suddenly, her Pokemon alarm clock went off.

"Oh that's right...I got woken up ahead of schedule because of the chaos you were making...well, off to turn it off I go." said Lucy.

But much to her surprise, she didn't have to lift a finger, as her Clefairy promptly walked out of the bathroom and turned it off by herself.

Her new Clefairy promptly smiled. Was she actually trying to make up for the havoc she had caused in her estate?

"You're really impressing me." noted the Pokemon trainer. "Well, back to the Pokeball you go."

Lucy's Clefairy shook her head.

"What's that? You don't want to go back in there? But I heard that they're so comfortable..." said Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy still shook her head.

"I guess they're not for every Pokemon, then. But I'm not sure how I'm going to travel with you then...you're a bit too big to travel on my head, unfortunately..." noted Lucy.

The Fairy Pokemon nodded, though she wasn't sure how about that question herself. However, she quickly came up to a solution.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed the Fairy Pokemon.

"What? You want to ride around on my back...well, only if you aren't too heavy for me..." said Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded and attached herself to Lucy as if she were a Pokemon backpack...which she might be mistaken for in the future considering how popular they were nowadays.

Fortunately, as it turns out, the Clefairy was not too heavy for Lucy to lift on her back. She in fact felt rather soft.

"This feels surprisingly good. I think this was a good idea!" cheered the unofficial female Pokemon trainer.

After doing a few more tasks that her mother had requested for her, Lucy was eventually ready to become a Pokemon trainer.

"Good job! Off to get a Pokemon license you go!" exclaimed Lucy's mother.

"Hooray!" cheered Lucy.

"Clefairy!" squealed her Clefairy.

_Meanwhile..._

"Alright, this should be our location. Now the only thing left to do is grab the girl and deliver her to my boss." thought Jake.

Suddenly, his Grimer oozed out of his Pokeball.

"Grimer!" squealed his Pokemon.

"Um, buddy...we're supposed to be keep quiet here. If her parents find out that I'm trying to abduct her daughter, they're going to flip!" explained Jake.

Jake's Grimer frowned as he slithered back into his Pokeball.

"Grimer..." he murmured sadly.

"Sorry, buddy. Maybe some other time." said Jake.

Out of nowhere, the Team Rocket Grunt then remembered that his Grimer was able to slide through doors and through windows due to the fact that he was made of ooze, and decided that maybe he could use him as a scout.

"Actually, on second thought, I think I know what to do with you now." said the Team Rocket Grunt.

Jake's Grimer promptly slithered out of his Pokeball with a smile on his face.

"Grimer!" cheered the sludge pokemon.

"Why don't you do me a favor and see if you can find any information I could use? Preferably where exactly in the house my target is...just make sure not to be seen, will you? If her parents find out that Team Rocket is after her daughter...well, they're probably going to call Officer Jenny...and we don't want that, now do we?" inquired Jake.

Jake's Grimer nodded. He too had heard the stories of Team Rocket Grunts that had gotten careless and had ended up in the custody of Officer Jenny to stand trial for their crimes against Pokemon...and to a lesser extent Pokemon Trainers.

He also heard that their Pokemon were usually confiscated from them and their licenses taken away...and they were then donated to other Pokemon trainers. Jake's Grimer did not look forward to being separated from his long-term companion, and wanted to make sure that they stayed together for as long as they possibly could. He gave Jake a wave goodbye as he went to enter the house.

Suddenly, he noticed that for some strange reason, his target appeared to be leaving her house using a limousine...which oddly enough his boss also had, though his was black and had a red R on it instead of simply being white. Where was she going?

"Darn it! Now I'm going to have to try to follow her...but where could she possibly be headed?" inquired Jake.

"Yes! Today's the day I'm finally going to get my Pokemon license!" cheered Lucy.

"That it is. Just try to calm down, sweetie. I know you're excited, but you need to stay focused." explained Lucy's mother.

"Sorry! It's hard for me to resist!" apologized the soon-to-be-licensed Pokemon trainer.

All of a sudden, Jake realized where she was headed. She was going to get a Pokemon license so that she become a Pokemon trainer and head into the great beyond. He in fact had remembered doing so when he wanted to head to the Pokemon League...but since his father told him that the prize for winning the league was just an empty cup, he ultimately decided that it wasn't worth it.

He personally thought it was a shame, considering how much he enjoyed getting his first Pokemon...which he had found in the trash can outside his home.

Of course, once she actually got the Pokemon license, his task would be a whole lot harder, since undoubtedly she would then start travelling all across Kanto gathering gym badges for the Pokemon League.

Suffice to say, he had to hurry if he wanted a good opportunity to catch her.

"Well, off to the Pokemon license station I go then!" exclaimed Jake as he headed towards his new destination.

_Meanwhile..._

Chris Himura could not wait to finally begin her Pokemon journey. Compared to other Pokemon trainers, she had done so rather late...as she was beginning her journey at the age of 13.

She would have gotten her Pokemon license earlier, but her parents told her that it was a dangerous world and that a girl like her should stay at home. She was really sick of it.

And for some strange reason, they insisted on calling her Christine, though she found her name too be too girly and wanted them to simply call her Chris. She was so frustrated.

They also insisted that she should try wearing a dress...but she hated wearing them. She instead chose to wear a black shirt with a skull on it along with some black shorts to wear on her Pokemon adventure.

All she wanted was to be the very best Pokemon trainer that there ever was. Was that too much to ask? Apparently it was for her parents. Why didn't they let her have some freedom?

Her parents had told her that Professor Oak was giving away three different types of Pokemon to different trainers depending on their preference, but she knew that they were all low-leveled, and she wanted a Pokemon that was stronger than that.

So instead, she decided to drive her bike to an area that was known to be full of high-level Pokemon...an area that only experienced Pokemon trainers should even consider paying a visit.

Her parents had unfortunately given her a girly-looking bike...even though she insisted on getting a motorcycle. Once again, they thought just because she was a girl that she was girly. Of course, they had also assisted that she bring a companion along with her so that she would be safe...but she wanted to go on her journey solo.

But she had never really been a person to pay attention to warnings...and although she didn't actually have a Pokemon yet, she decided to enter anyway.

"Oh please...a bunch of high-level Pokemon never scared me." she thought.

She decided to sit on a stump and wait for one of them to show up. Surely one of them would...or were they all frightened of her?

Sure enough, a wild Pokemon did arrive...though it was far from what she was expecting.

"A Jigglypuff? You've got to be kidding me." thought Chris.

"Jigglypuff!" cheered the wild balloon pokemon.

Immediately, the wild Jigglypuff began to sing a lullaby, a lullaby that would make most Pokemon trainers and their Pokemon fall asleep.

But as it turns out, Chris was not an ordinary Pokemon trainer. She in fact had an extreme amount of willpower and thus would not fall victim to the song so easily. In fact, the lullaby did not make her feel sleepy at all.

Her response was rather sarcastic.

"Really? You thought that a simple song could make fall asleep? You're really going to have to do better than that." answered Chris.

Much to her surprise, The wild Jigglypuff seemed rather excited that the Pokemon trainer had not taken a snooze. In fact, she appeared to be celebrating.

"Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff!" squealed the wild Jigglypuff, who at this point was jumping up and down.

She had finally found someone that would actually pay attention to her singing and not take a nap. She couldn't believe it!

"What are you so happy about?" inquired the not-so-girly future Pokemon trainer.

Suddenly, the wild Jigglypuff latched onto her leg. Apparently, she wanted her to be her Pokemon trainer.

"You want me to be your Pokemon trainer...you've got to be freaking kidding me. I came here looking for a Pokemon that was an absolute beast...and instead I got a balloon! And they say this area is dangerous..." said Chris.

The wild Jigglypuff frowned. She was really hoping that she would end up being chosen as a starter Pokemon.

"Jigglypuff..." complained the Jigglypuff.

Becoming desperate, she refused to let go of Chris's leg.

"What the-are you a Paras or something?" inquired the Pokemon trainer.

Unfortunately, with the Jigglypuff attached to her, she suddenly found it hard for her to get around.

"Would you kindly get off me?" demanded Chris.

"Jigglypuff..." whimpered the balloon. She promptly looked at the girl using its adorable eyes.

"What's this? It appears you're trying to use your eyes to gather sympathy...well guess what! It's not going to work on me! Don't waste your time!" exclaimed the future Pokemon trainer.

The wild Jigglypuff promptly whimpered and let go of her leg.

"That's better. Now run along! Sheesh, what's a Pokemon like you doing in a place like this anyway..." exclaimed Chris.

Jigglypuff promptly walked away sadly. She had finally found someone that would listen to her sing, and yet she didn't want anything to do with the poor balloon Pokemon.

"Now then...let's keep looking for a strong Pokemon..." she said to herself.

Unfortunately, she did not pay attention to where she was going...and she ended up bumping into a wild Tauros.

The Tauros in question was not amused. Chris promptly became nervous.

"Um, you don't mind that I've entered your territory, now do you? I mean, it's so big and all. I'm sure there's enough room for the two of us...heh heh." inquired the girl in danger.

The Tauros promptly began to scrape his leg against the ground.

"I'll take that as a yes!" exclaimed Chris as she began to run away.

Unsurprisingly, the wild Tauros began to charge after her.

"I'm starting to have second thoughts about heading here..." thought Chris. "Is this the end for me or something? I was personally hoping that I'd live a little longer..."

Fortunately for the unfortunate future Pokemon trainer, the wild Jigglypuff she had encountered earlier noticed what was happening, and decided that she should come to her defense.

Immediately, she began to sing one of her songs...

All of a sudden, the Tauros began to feel really, really, really sleepy...and eventually, it collapsed to the ground. Chris promptly stopped running and looked at the Tauros in surprise.

The wild Jigglypuff in question was not amused, and started drawing a moustache on the wild bull Pokemon's face.

For some strange reason, Chris could not help but laugh. All of a sudden, she decided that maybe she was wrong about the wild JIgglypuff.

"I don't believe it...you actually took out a wild Tauros...maybe I was wrong about you..." noted the tomboy as she picked up the balloon pokemon.

"Jigglypuff!" cheered the wild Jigglypuff.

Apparently, today was going to be the best day of her life. At long last, she had found somebody to her Pokemon trainer...and as an added bonus, she would not fall asleep from her songs.

"Just don't expect me to capture any more cute Pokemon in the future, OK? I'm trying to create a strong Pokemon team..." said the teenager.

The Jigglypuff nodded its head as Chris caught her in her Pokeball.

"Sheesh...I never really expected a Jigglypuff to be my starter Pokemon...but she seems strong enough. Besides, she actually made me laugh...more than I can say about my parents." thought the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

She decided to set forth to find stronger Pokemon...unaware in the process that despite her wishes she would end up traveling with another Pokemon trainer on her journey in the near future.

_Well, I've introduced my third main character in this story...what do you think of her? Do you think she's a jerk? Do you think she's awesome? Do you think her name is funny?_

_And yes, Jake's starter pokemon is a Grimer...I figured that it would suit him...just like I figured a Clefairy would suit Lucy._

_And yes, I had a little fun with choosing a Jigglypuff for Chris...of course, you'd be surprised how aggressive its evolution can be...and a JIgglypuff itself has a short temper too...so go figure._

_Anyways, in the next chapter, we're going to see the last main character in my little story...and unfortunately, Jake is going to try to kidnap Lucy...though he'll fail miserably._

_So I'll see you later!_


	3. Chapter 3: Introductions

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, we're going to be meeting our last main protagonist...he's in fact going to be partnered with Chris, whether he likes it or not...he's also going to be very different from her, as you'll find out shortly._

_Also, Jake is going to be up to no good...is he successfully going to capture Lucy? Or he is going to abort the mission? Let's find out...though in retrospect you're probably hoping for the latter...heh heh._

**Chapter 3: Introductions**

Lucy was very happy that she would finally get the opportunity to get her very own Pokemon license. She had been waiting for it for eleven years, and today was finally her big day.

Her mother was currently discussing it with the Pokemon licenser, who as it turns out wanted a small amount of Pokedollars in exchange for the license.

Suddenly, she noticed that there seemed to be a strange car approaching the license station. Curious, she decided to go outside to get a closer look.

Oddly enough, the driver seemed to be waiting for her.

"Hey there! How would you like to go for a ride with me?" inquired Jake.

Normally, Jake would not be old enough to drive a car...but since he was the shadier side of the law (and of course a Team Rocket member), Giovanni had entrusted him with one anyways.

"Aren't you a little young to be driving a car?" inquired Lucy.

"I know, I know...but think of all the places I can take you!" exclaimed the Rocket Grunt.

"Like...what?" inquired the preteen girl.

Curious, she noticed that the car was black and had a red R on it. She immediately got suspicious.

"Why does your car have a red R on it?" asked the preteen.

Suddenly, she noticed that her Clefairy was pulling her leg. Apparently, the fairy pokemon did not look forward to hitchhiking.

"Clefairy!" she exclaimed. She had a bad feeling about the guy that was trying to take her on a car ride.

"Sorry...but I don't think my Pokemon wants to go on a ride with you...and I've got to respect her wishes." said Lucy.

"Fine..." answered Jake, rather upset that his plan had been thwarted.

Lucy promptly reentered the Pokemon license station...just as her mother stepped out of the licenser's office.

"Did he say I could have one?" inquired Lucy.

"Yes...you're just gong to have to go through a few steps first...by the way, shouldn't you be keeping your Clefairy in your Pokeball?" inquired her mother.

"She told me that she didn't want to go in there..." said Lucy.

Her Clefairy promptly nodded.

"Well, she's going to have to stand outside...it says on that sign over there Pokemon aren't allowed inside the building." explained Lucy's mother.

Lucy looked around, and noticed that there was in fact a sign saying that Pokemon were not allowed inside the building, unless of course they were in a Pokeball.

"Oh, right...how could I have not noticed that? I feel silly..." answered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded as she walked outside the building.

"Now then...let's get your license, shall we?" inquired Lucy's mother.

Lucy nodded as she stepped inside the licenser's office.

First, the future Pokemon trainer had to get her picture taken so that it could be displayed on her Pokemon license.

Second, she had to watch a video explaining what Pokemon were and what they could be used for...curiously enough, Professor Oak was in fact narrating the video.

Finally, she had to sign a contract detailing the rules she would have to follow if she wanted to keep the license, such as treating Pokemon with respect and not stealing Pokemon from other Pokemon trainers.

"So, let me get this straight...I'll have to follow the rules if I want to keep the Pokemon license?" inquired Lucy.

"Well, the punishment in question would depend on what rule you actually broke...since some of them are more serious than others...but yes, you should follow these if you want to keep your license." answered the licenser.

"OK then." answered the future Pokemon trainer as she signed the contract.

"Very good. Here is your license...just make sure to write your name so that everyone knows who you are." said the licenser as she handed Lucy her Pokemon license.

She promptly raised her hands in the air. She was now an official Pokemon trainer!

Also, according to the picture on her license, she was still a redhead just like her father...and she still looked cute.

"Looking good!" she thought.

Suffice to say, Lucy's mother was very happy for her.

"So my little angel...did you get your license?" inquired Lucy's mother.

"Yes, I did." answered Lucy. "Now I can finally become a Pokemon trainer!"

"Mm-hmm...but before you do, we need to head home. It's your birthday, don't you remember?" inquired Lucy's mother.

"Oh, right...heh heh heh." answered Lucy. She in fact had almost forgotten about that in all the excitement of becoming a Pokemon trainer.

_Meanwhile..._

Lucy's father was rather pleased for himself. Thanks to one of his bakers and a few members of his family, his daughter would certainly have a good birthday. He in fact had made sure that it was her favorite flavor...and that the presents were all things that she would enjoy.

Of course, the presents would not be as decent overall as the Pokemon license she had received. He had noted that he had allowed her to get a Pokemon license a year later than most Pokemon trainers...but considering how much work he had to put into becoming what he was today, he figured that it wouldn't hurt if she was a bit older before going to out to collect gym badges.

But there was just one problem with his daughter's birthday party...there was a really strange odor around the mansion lately. And to make matters worse, he wasn't exactly sure where it was coming from.

He had in one point noted that there seemed to be a strange purple goo dripping from his air vents, and wondered if he should have one of his staff members investigate it.

His Arcanine himself had it worse than he did...considering the legendary Pokemon's sense of smell was far stronger than his was. In fact, he had spent much of his day lying down and whimpering.

"It's OK, we're going to get this checked out soon, I promise." answered Lucy's father.

Unbeknowst to the two of them, the odor in question was from a spy...in this case, it was Jake's Grimer.

He in fact had gotten a lot of information in the short amount of time he had visited the house. Thanks to his hiding spot, none of the members were aware of his presence (though they were aware of his smell), and he had already figured out a lot of information about his Pokemon trainer's target.

For example, he knew the names of her parents (which were Linda and Barry, respectively), knew that she had a sweet tooth (which is why her father had set up a few sweets for her aside from her birthday cake), and above all else, loved virtually every Pokemon there was in existence, even Grimers like himself.

At this point, he decided that it was best to return to his master and give him the information he uncovered. For some strange reason, he always knew what he was trying to tell him...even though he could only say the name of his own race.

He promptly slithered into the mansion's plumbing system so that he could step outside and locate his master.

_Now let's check on Chris..._

Chris was rather happy that she finally had a Pokemon she could use to fight with other Pokemon trainers with, though it hadn't been her first choice in question.

"Finally...now I can go get some badges and enter the Pokemon league...shame that the tournament only occurs once a year...ah well." thought Chris.

Suddenly, another Pokemon trainer ran up to her. Curious, she stepped off her bike. She immediately noticed that he was dressed in a white labcoat, and was wearing glasses. Also, he was a blond, which she found to be a bit ironic considering that she was a brunette.

"Hey there nerd...are you looking for a Pokemon battle or something? Because I'm looking forward to one!" exclaimed Chris.

The Pokemon trainer in question frowned. People always seemed to call that...well either that or a geek. Or on some occasions a dork. Generally, people didn't seem to think much of him.

"What is your name, anyway?" inquired Chris.

"My name's Ned...Ned Kagome..." answered the dorky Pokemon trainer.

Chris promptly chuckled.

"Your name's Ned? That's nerd without an R...ha ha ha ha! Anyways, my name's Chris..." laughed the ungirly Pokemon trainer.

"Very funny...wait, isn't that a boy's name?" inquired Ned.

"My full name's actually Christine...but since I hated being called that...I decided to abbreviate it." answered Chris.

"Very funny...anyways, can you help me with something?" inquired Ned.

"Like...what?" asked Chris.

"I'm looking for my Eevee...he wandered off and now I can't seem to find him..." explained the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"You really should take better care of him then." answered the tomboy.

Ned sighed.

"I know...but I'd really appreciate it if you helped me find him!" answered the nerd.

"Sheesh...I came here looking for Pokemon trainers to fight...and instead I found someone that can't keep track out of his own Pokemon." noted Chris.

Unbeknowst to the two Pokemon trainers, Ned's Eevee had spotted Chris' bike...and was wondering if he should try giving it a ride. It sure sounded like fun.

"Do you really have to keep telling me to keep looking after my own Pokemon?" inquired Ned.

"Can't you just keep him in a Pokeball? That's what I do with my new Jigglypuff." asked Chris.

"I tried that...but guess what? He found out how to get out of his own Pokeball on his own! I wonder how he does that..." said Ned.

"All the more reason you should have kept an eye on him then." noted the tomboy.

"Oh c'mon!" exclaimed the nerd.

Suddenly, they both noticed that Chris's bicycle appeared to be moving on its own.

"What the-" said Chris.

Curious, Ned noticed that his Eevee had snuck onto the bicycle while they were arguing with each other, and was trying to ride it himself.

"Uh-oh..." he thought.

Unfortunately, he in fact had no idea how to operate it, and it was going down a pretty deep slope.

Luckily, Ned's Eevee was smart enough to jump off the bicycle before it picked up too much momentum...unluckily for Chris, her bike kept on going and going...until it crashed into a nearby rock.

"My bike!" exclaimed Chris.

Sadly, her bike had been completely totaled by the crash...and she would not longer to be able to ride around on it to get where she needed to go.

An animesque anger mark promptly appeared on her head.

"Look...what you did!" screamed the unfortunate Pokemon trainer.

"Please forgive me! I didn't mean for this to happen, I swear!" apologized Ned.

"I hope you are sorry! Do you know how much bikes cost in Kanto?!" questioned Chris.

"A million dollars?" answered the nerd sheepishly.

"Uh-huh! I'm personally surprised people can actually afford them! Anyways, I'm not going to leave you alone until you get me another one!" screamed the female Pokemon trainer.

"You're going to hunt me down...even to the ends of the earth?" inquired Ned nervously.

Chris nodded.

Ned promptly began to drop to his knees and cry.

The tomboyish Pokemon trainer promptly facepalmed.

She then remembered what she was looking forward to doing, and she got an idea.

"I suppose it would help if you challenged me to a Pokemon battle..." said Chris.

"It would?" inquired Ned, who suddenly stopped crying.

"Mm-hmm..now hurry up and get your Eevee!" exclaimed Chris.

"Yes, ma'am!" nodded Ned.

Fortunately for Ned, since his Eevee had finally revealed himself, it was not hard for him to pick up the evolution Pokemon and bring him near Chris.

"There we go...now then...Jigglypuff, let's go faint some Pokemon!" exclaimed Chris as she hurled Jigglypuff's Pokeball.

Sure enough, her Jigglypuff was converted from energy back into matter.

"Jigglypuff!" cheered the balloon Pokemon.

"Aren't you going to say, I choose you?" inquired Ned.

"Isn't it obvious?" answered Chris.

"Well, I'm still going to say it. Eevee, I choose you!" exclaimed Ned.

"Your Eevee's already out of its Pokeball." answered the tomboy.

Ned sweatdropped.

"Anyways, let's get it on!" exclaimed Chris.

"Right..." answered the nerd.

_Now let's head back to Lucy..._

Though she could not wait to set forth on a Pokemon journey, Lucy enjoyed her birthday party very much. Her cake was delicious, her birthday presents were awesome, and best of all, both of her parents were there to wish her happy birthday.

Personally, Lucy's father was glad that the strange smell that was in the mansion earlier today had disappeared. He was starting to get worried about his Arcanine, seeing though he couldn't tolerate the smell, and he had also been considering sending someone to investigate.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, a few of his wife's flowers had wilted.

"What happened?" inquired Lucy's mother.

"We're sorry! We don't know what happened, ma'am!" answered the gardener.

"Did you give it water?" she asked.

"Yes we did...oddly enough there seems to be a bit of purple goo on it...I don't know how it got there, ma'am." answered the man.

"That is weird...just try to take better care of them in the near future." answered Lucy's mother.

The gardener nodded.

Fortunately, aside from the aforementioned herbicide, nothing went wrong in the household, and Lucy had a pretty good birthday.

"Today has been absolutely awesome...though I wonder who that strange guy in that car was..." she thought.

_Meanwhile, outside the mansion..._

Jake was simply not able to come up with an efficient plan to capture Lucy, even though his Grimer had returned to him and told him pretty much everything she had to know about it.

Knowing that Lucy had a sweet tooth, he had tried luring her out using a bag of candy and scattering it in a trail so that she'd end up in a pitfall...but unfortunately his Grimer had fallen for the trap instead.

"What were you thinking?!" inquired Jake.

"Grimer..." apologized Jake's Grimer.

As for the rest of his ideas, he ultimately decided that they would not be effective. Why did Lucy have to be so well-protected?

Eventually, he realized that if he was going to capture Lucy, he was going to have to be pragmatic.

"I didn't want to resort to this...but I suppose I have no choice..." said Jake as he pulled out a baseball bat and a bag.

Jake's Grimer promptly whimpered.

"Yes, I know...this is going to be messy." said the Team Rocket Grunt.

As it turned out, Lucy's parents were saying their goodbyes to Lucy. Hopefully she would do well in the Pokemon League.

"Goodbye!" exclaimed Lucy's mother.

"Have a nice trip!" cheered on Lucy's father.

"I will!" answered Lucy as she left the mansion along with her Clefairy.

Curiously enough, this reminded Lucy's father of the day she went out on a Pokemon journey...this was in fact how he had met his wife. They in fact had gone on on their Pokemon journey together...basically, they were a tag team.

Of course, since then, he had been working as one of the managers for Silph Co...after all, they did manufacture many different things for Pokemon use. He was personally surprised how fast he rose in the ranks...or was it just his imagination?

He personally wondered if Lucy would end up finding an adventuring companion to go with her as well.

However, as it turns out, Lucy's Clefairy had one thing to show her before she set forth on a Pokemon journey.

"Where are you taking me?" inquired Lucy.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.

"What? You want to show me something?" inquired the Pokemon trainer.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded.

As it turned out, it was none other than her spaceship...which unfortunately was still in bad shape.

"What the-you have a spaceship? Are you a space alien or something?" inquired Lucy.

"Clefairy clefairy." said Lucy's Clefairy.

"What? You're from the moon? Funny...now that you said that part of me wants to go there as well." said the Pokemon trainer.

Lucy's Clefairy then explained to Lucy that due to her carelessness, the spaceship had unfortunately been damaged horribly, and that she would need some supplies so that it would be able to zoom into space again.

"Oh dear...so you want me to help you get back home?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded, though admittedly many members of her race enjoyed living on Earth, and wondered if she should remain with Lucy.

She then remembered that Lucy was interested in heading into space, and decided to cut her a deal.

"Clefairy fairy." said Lucy's Clefairy.

"You're saying that if I help you repair your spaceship, you'll let me go on a ride with you?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded.

"Sounds like a fair deal...so, when should we start?" asked the Pokemon trainer.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.

"After we're done with the Indigo League Conference? That's awfully generous of you..." noted Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy then explained that she in fact wasn't in a hurry to leave and that she in fact enjoyed being on Earth, and that she wanted to do Lucy a favor for accepting her as her starter Pokemon.

"Oh...well then...I guess we should get going then." said Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded.

Unbeknowst to Lucy, a certain Team Rocket Grunt was slowly creeping up on her.

"Alright...it's now or never..." he thought as he held the baseball bat.

However, the more he thought about it...the more guilty he felt about trying to hold her for ransom. Was being part of Team Rocket really worth it? All they ever did all day was try to make money...

His father had once told him that the world was very dark and cruel...but did he have to contribute to it being so dark and cruel? Now that he thought of it...was the world really as horrible as his father had said? Because his target seemed to enjoy living in it...judging from the fact that she usually had a smile on her face.

Eventually, he found himself unable to abduct Lucy, and he dropped the baseball bat on the floor.

"Oh, who am I kidding! I'm just not cut out for this! I guess I'm going to have to tell Giovanni that I'm just not that kind of person..." murmured Jake.

"Hey there!" exclaimed Lucy.

Jake nearly jumped out of his uniform in surprise.

"Um, hi?" inquired Jake.

"Didn't I see you driving a car earlier?" asked Lucy.

"Er, yeah...that was me..." answered the Team Rocket grunt.

"You really shouldn't drive a car without a license...it's dangerous, you know." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Er, yeah..." answered Jake nervously.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to be a Pokemon trainer, now would you? I heard that Pokemon trainers battle each other, all the time?" inquired Lucy.

"Er, yeah...I'm a Pokemon trainer." nodded the Team Rocket grunt. Why did he have to allow himself to be discovered?

"My name is Lucy...what's yours?" asked Lucy.

"Er, it's Jake..." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Nice to meet you!" exclaimed Lucy, shaking his hand.

"Er, nice to meet you too." answered Jake.

Suddenly, his Grimer once again slithered out of his Pokeball. Apparently, he wanted to introduce himself to Lucy's starter Pokemon too.

Although Lucy's Clefairy got the feeling that Jake was hiding something from Lucy, she decided to shake hands with Jake's Grimer as well. However, as she found out, he was rather messy. She promptly went into her spaceship to get some napkins.

"So, have you participated in a Pokemon battle before? Because I haven't yet..." said Lucy.

"No, I haven't." answered Jake.

"Well then...you want to give it a try?" inquired Lucy.

"Sure...I guess...Grimer, you ready?" nodded Jake nervously.

Jake's Grimer nodded.

"Alright then...Clefairy, let's go!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy and Jake's Grimer both entered fighting positions.

"What am I getting myself into?" thought Jake as the battle commenced.

_Guess what? It's cliffhanger time! Who do you think are going to win these two Pokemon battles? And what do you think of my last main character for this story?_

_Also, in case you haven't noticed, I decided to give each of the main characters different hair colors...I mentioned earlier that Lucy was a redhead, Ned was a blonde, and Chris was a brunette...though you shouldn't be assuming that I'll be using stereotypes for them...hair colors don't define a person, you know._

_Anyways, can you guess what hair color Jake is?_

_Guess what? His hair is green! Heh heh heh. Yes, for some strange reason, Pokemon trainers can have green hair...and Jake is no exception..._

_Anyways, in the next chapter, we'll finally be having some Pokemon battles...sound good?_


	4. Chapter 4: First Pokemon Battles

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, our heroes are going to have their first Pokemon battles...two of them are going to win...while two of them are going to lose..._

_Can you guess who are going to be winners and who are going to be losers? Let's find out...and yes, I did do the research on what Pokemon can do what at an early level...excluding TMs of course...though I'll likely make our heroes' Pokemon learn TMS eventually...that'd be awesome, right?_

**Chapter 4: First Pokemon Battles**

Lucy's Clefairy was the one that went first.

"Clefairy, use Pound!" exclaimed Lucy.

Immediately, she pounded into Grimer, causing him to collapse into a puddle of goo.

"Alright! First strike!" cheered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy smiled.

However, as it turned out, Jake's Grimer was not down for the count. And Jake was ready to prepare a counterattack.

"Grimer, give the Clefairy a Pound of your own, why don't you? Give her some payback." inquired Jake.

Jake's Grimer nodded, and hit Clefairy in retaliation. Though he was made of sludge, it was still rather effective, and Lucy's Clefairy collapsed on the floor. Fortunately, she got back up again.

"Clefairy, use Growl!" exclaimed Lucy.

Clefairy did as she was asked, causing Jake's Grimer to start to feel uneasy. Should he attack a Pokemon that was growling so fiercely at him?

"Don't let that Clefairy scare you...try hardening yourself!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Grimer did as he was told. All of a sudden, he became less gooey than usual.

"Well then, this should help make up for the loss of Attack my Grimer suffered...hopefully at least." thought Jake.

"Try Pounding it again!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy tried pounding Grimer once more, but as it turned out, this wasn't as effective now that he had turned solid. This time, he did not collapse into a pile of goo.

"Clefairy..." worried Lucy's Clefairy.

"Very good! You didn't collapse this time. Now let's try poisoning your foe with that Poison Gas of yours." explained Jake.

Jake's Grimer nodded and bombared Lucy's Clefairy with its poison gas. Though the attack was normally inaccurate, it nonetheless struck the unfortunate Fairy Pokemon...and all of a sudden, it began to feel very woozy.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy in concern.

"Clefairy..." murmured Clefairy. All of a sudden, she began to feel rather weak.

"Now's your chance! Use Pound again!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Grimer nodded and gave Lucy's Clefairy another Pound. And this time, it was a critical hit.

Unfortunately for Lucy, this was all her Clefairy could take. It promptly collapsed on the ground once more, but this time she did not get up. Her Clefairy had fainted. She had lost.

"Aww..." complained Lucy as she handed Jake some Pokedollars as a reward for his victory.

"Sorry that you lost your first Pokemon battle..." apologized Jake. To be honest to himself, he was rather surprised that he had won.

"It's OK...I'm sure that they'll be other Pokemon battles, right? And to be fair, I think my Clefairy did fairly well considering that it was her first time..." said Lucy.

"True..." nodded Jake. Personally, he was surprised how optimistic she was that she had lost her first Pokemon battle. If he had been in the same situation, he probably would have given up on being a Pokemon trainer right then and there.

"You did lose about a hundred Pokedollars though..." pointed out Jake.

"It's not like I really need to worry about losing money...to be honest, my parents gave me a lot of Pokedollars for my journey...you know how most Pokemon trainers start with three thousand Pokedollars? Well, they gave me ten thousand..." noted Lucy.

"Wow." noted Jake. He personally wished that he had that many Pokedollars...but he had sadly not been so fortunate.

"Say, you want to be my Pokemon partner? I heard that it's more fun to go on a Pokemon adventure with a friend than doing it solo..." noted Lucy.

"Um, sure..." said Jake. Ironically enough, his boss had insisted on him going alone. Speaking of which, should he inform Giovanni that he was going a Pokemon adventure with his own target? Nonetheless, for some strange reason, he couldn't resist the urge to become a Pokemon trainer himself.

"Sure, why not." answered Jake. He felt rather guilty about what he had tried to do earlier, and decided that maybe this would help make up for her.

"Good! Welcome aboard! Now then, let's head to Viridian City so that we can go to our first Gym!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Right...but we should probably find a Pokemon Center so that we can heal our Pokemon first...they're rather beat up." noted Jake.

Jake's Grimer nodded in agreement. Though he had won the battle, he was still rather woozy.

Fortunately, as it turned out, there was a makeshift Pokemon center inside her Clefairy's spaceship.

"Wow...where did you even find this?" inquired Jake.

"My Clefairy showed it to me." explained Lucy.

"I'm really impressed with it." noted the Team Rocket Grunt. He personally wondered if Giovanni would be interested in it...he always seemed so obsessed with money.

Using the improvised Pokemon Center inside the spaceship, Jake's Grimer and Lucy's Clefairy were quickly nursed back to health.

"What would we do without Pokemon centers like these?" inquired Lucy.

"I don't know...thank goodness they exist. They make Pokemon battling so much easier." nodded Jake.

"Well, off to Viridian City we go then." said the female Pokemon trainer.

"Mm-hmm." agreed Jake. Funny, didn't his boss own a gym there? Then again he never really seemed to use it much. Apparently, he only came out of hiding whenever there were strong Pokemon trainers around. He was the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto, after all.

Speaking of which, he began to worry about his criminal team. Would they be curious to where he had gone? Would Giovanni want a status report? Would he and his criminal organization hunt him down? These thoughts all plagued him as he set forth on his journey with Lucy.

_Now for the other Pokemon battle..._

As it turned out, Jake and Lucy were not the only ones that were having a Pokemon battle. Chris and Ned were also having a Pokemon battle...though this was more of an act of revenge than a test of skill between the two.

"Eevee, use Tackle!" exclaimed Ned.

Unfortunately, Ned's Eevee was not paying attention to him. He was busy licking his paws.

"Way to go. You just left yourself vulnerable. Jigglypuff, give him a Pound!" exclaimed Chris.

Jigglypuff promptly barged into Eevee, sending him flying a few feet. Thankfully for Ned, this caused him to regain his focus.

"Eevee, use Tail Whip!" exclaimed Ned.

Ned's Eevee nodded, and shook his tail at Chris's Jigglypuff. Apparently, she thought this was cute, because she began to lower her guard.

"What? Jigglypuff, he's trying to get you to let your guard down! Don't let him trick you! Try curling yourself up!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded as she curled herself up into a ball. Suffice to say, this undid the Tail Whip Ned did a few seconds ago.

"It looks like Tail Whip isn't going to work...try Tackling her!" exclaimed Ned.

Ned's Eevee paid attention to Ned this time, and tried to tackle Chris's Jigglypuff into the ground. Unfortunately, she moved out of the way, and his Eevee instead fell down on its face.

"Say, Jigglypuff, why don't you do the thing that you do best? I'm sure you've been dying to use it since you got into this Pokemon battle in the first place..." inquired Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded, and began to sing a lullaby.

"Eevee! No!" warned Ned.

But it was too late. Ned's Eevee had fallen asleep because of Jigglypuff's singing.

"Oh dear! He fell asleep right in front of your performance...not very nice, now is it? Why don't you teach him a lesson and Pound him into submission!" suggested Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded in agreement. She couldn't believe how rude the Eevee was. She pounded Ned's Eevee as hard as it could. When it still wouldn't wake up, she decided to do so again.

This time, Chris's Jigglypuff got a critical hit. Ned's Eevee was sent flying an even greater distance than it was earlier...And this time, he was down for the count.

Curious, Ned decided to give his Eevee a closer look...and discovered the familiar swirly look in a Pokemon's eyes whenever it fainted. He promptly sighed.

"If only he had paid attention to me the first time when I told him to tackle the Jigglypuff...and this was my first Pokemon battle, too!" noted Ned.

Chris must have noticed what had happened as well, because she immediately began to taunt Ned.

"What's that? Oh dear...it looks like you lost your first Pokemon battle...against a girl! What an embarrasment!" taunted Chris.

"What's so bad about that?" inquired Ned. Apparently he didn't understand stereotypes too well.

Chris sweatdropped.

"I was hoping that would agitate you...but I guess not. Now hand me some Pokedollars!" exclaimed Chris.

Ned nodded as he handed Chris some Pokedollars.

"This is a nice amount of money...but guess what? You've still got ninety-nine hundred thousand and nine hundred Pokedollars to go!" exclaimed Chris.

"Aww..." complained Ned.

"Now then...let's head to the nearest Pokemon center, shall we? Surely your Eevee could use another diaper." inquired the Pokemon trainer.

"But your Jigglypuff didn't even get hit...why do you need to go?" said Ned.

"You do realize that I'm still stalking you until you pay back your debt, am I right?" inquired Chris.

"Oh, right...how am I ever going to pay back my debt?" questioned Ned.

"I'm sure you'll think of something...you're the genius, not me." answered the tomboy.

"Um..." answered the sensitive Pokemon trainer. How exactly was he supposed to respond to that?

As they both headed to the Pokemon center, this question continued to linger in the back of his mind.

"At least I'll have someone to keep me company on my Pokemon adventure, I guess...and possibly for the rest of my life..." noted Ned as he walked with Chris.

_Meanwhile at Celadon City..._

Giovanni wondered what was taking his grunt so long. He had given him a car so that he could get to his target much faster, and yet he still seemed to be taking forever and a day. Which was a shame, considering how much he was looking forward to being a million Pokedollars richer.

What was he going to do? He unfortunately had not given his grunt anything he could use to contact him with, since he figured that he was going on a brief mission. This was something he was beginning to regret. For all he knew, his grunt probably ended up being captured by Officer Jenny...and he had lost enough of his men to her as it was.

"I hate her so much..." he thought. Why did she always have to stick her nose in his business? She was always so determined to get him arrested...though he personally doubted that she would ever catch him.

Suddenly, he considered the possibility of sending other Team Rocket Grunts to hunt him down. Maybe they would be able to find him. Maybe they would able to capture his target while she was at it. His million Pokedollars were overdue at this point.

But just who should he possibly send?

Suddenly, two of his grunts entered the room. One of them was male, while the other was female. They were holding a Pokemon in their hands...

"Hey boss! Look what we have!" exclaimed the male Team Rocket Grunt.

"We finally captured a Pokemon!" squealed the female Team Rocket Grunt.

"Ah, Jessie and James...you actually caught a Pokemon for me? Why do I find that hard to believe?" inquired Giovanni.

James promptly opened a Pokeball to reveal the Pokemon that they had caught. It wasn't very impressive.

As it turned out, the Pokemon they had captured in question was a simple Magikarp...which of course would not sell well.

"A Magikarp? Seriously? I thought I warned you not to buy anything from that obnoxious salesman..." noted Giovanni.

James chuckled nervously.

"He was...rather persuasive." noted James.

"Whatever! Anyways, I've got a favor for you to ask...though personally part of me wonders if you're actually going to complete it." said Giovanni.

"Do you want us to catch that twerp's Pikachu again?" inquired Jessie.

"No no no. Nothing like that this time. I want you to look for someone for me." explained Giovanni.

"You want us to look for someone?" asked James.

"That I do...you see, one of my Grunts has gone AWOL...so I need you to find him. And while you're at it, if you get the opportunity, I want you to snatch a girl for me..." explained Giovanni.

Immediately, he handed them a picture of Jake and Lucy.

"So, you want us to go after two kids, then? That's a change of pace." noted Jessie.

"Mm-hmm...while you're at it, why don't you bring that Meowth of yours with you to assist you with this task?" inquired Giovanni.

"Yes, of course! Wait, where is he, anyway?" inquired James, noticing that his feline companion was not currently with him.

Suddenly, the Meowth in question barged into the room.

"Sorry I'm late... I was taking a catnap..." explained Meowth.

For some strange reason, unlike most Pokemon, this Meowth was capable of speech.

"Mm-hmm...I'm assigning you on a mission with your old friends..." nodded Giovanni.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" cheered Meowth.

"Mm-hmm...anyways, now that you're all here...I want you all to head into your hot air balloon and get some binoculars...it should be easier for you to find them that way. Personally I doubt you'll succeed, but prove me wrong." answered Giovanni.

"You got it, boss!" exclaimed the trio as they left Giovanni's office.

Giovanni then let out a sigh.

"Why can't they be more like Butch and Cassidy? They always seem to get the job done right..." thought the ringleader of Team Rocket.

At least now he would be able to find his missing Team Rocket Grunt...hopefully, Jessie and James would be able to do so before the authorities arrived.

"The sooner I find him and the girl, the better. I want that million Pokedollars...and nothing is going to stop me." he said to himself.

_And we have our two winners and our two unfortunate losers...did you see them coming?_

_Uh-oh! It looks like Giovanni's sent two of his Grunts to hunt down Jake...though thankfully the ones he was sending after them are rather incompetent..._

_That's probably going to change in the near future though...you think that Jake and Lucy will be able to defend themselves?_

_And what do you think is going to happen to Chris and Ned? Ned still has that enormous debt to pay off...how is he ever going to get enough Pokedollars? Is Chris going to keep stalking him until the end of time?_

_I suppose you'll find out these questions eventually...but for now, I'll see you later!_


	5. Chapter 5: Catching Pokemon

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, our heroes are going to capture some Pokemon..with the exception of Ned, since he needs to get his Eevee to the Pokemon Center...tough luck for him I guess._

_Don't worry, he'll get his own second Pokemon in due time...but for now, he's just going to have to stick to his Eevee..._

_Anyways, let's see what our three heroes catch, shall we? Of course, since I'm doing my best not to make them Mary Sues and Marty Stus respectively...they're not going to catch strong Pokemon right off the bat...of course, this doesn't mean they won't be able to catch strong Pokemon at all...since they need those for the Pokemon League._

_But for now, let's watch them catch some Com Mons...if you catch my drift. Can you guess which ones they're going to catch?_

**Chapter 5: Catching Pokemon**

Lucy and Jake both walked into the grasslands near Lucy's mansion, ready to capture a few Pokemon for their competitive battling.

"Let's see now...my parents gave me about ten Pokeballs...along with a spare Pokedex in case mine got broken or lost..." explained Lucy as she examined the supplies her parents gave her.

Sure enough, Lucy pulled out her Pokedex. Oddly enough, it was colored pink.

"You got ten Pokeballs? I heard that most Pokemon trainers only got five...and I didn't even get a Pokedex either..." noted Jake.

"Oh, you didn't? Alright then, you can have this one!" cheered Lucy as she handed him a Pokedex.

"What? That's awfully generous of you." noted Jake as he accepted it.

"Just because I'm rich doesn't mean I can't be generous, you know." noted Lucy.

"True..." thought Jake. Should he give the Pokedex to his boss? Maybe it would make up for him not succeeding in his mission to capture his target, which unfortunately he didn't have the guts for.

Oddly enough, the Pokedex he received in question was blue, which he felt to be rather ironic.

"Right...I wonder what it does..." questioned Jake.

"Oh that's simple...you can use it to scan Pokemon that you meet on your travels." explained Lucy.

"Really? I guess I'll test it on on your Clefairy then..." said the Team Rocket grunt.

Curious, he decided to give Lucy's Clefairy a scan. Sure enough, a masculine electronic voice came out of it.

"Clefairy, the Fairy Pokemon. Its magical and cute appeal has many admirers...but it is rare and is only found in certain areas." said the Pokedex.

"Sounds like you were lucky to get one as your first Pokemon then." noted Jake.

"Uh-huh!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded in agreement, though oddly enough she knew a place where a large amount of them were gathered.

Jake then released his Grimer from his Pokeball to see what Lucy's Pokedex had to say about him. Oddly enough, this artificial voice was feminine in nature.

"Grimer, the Sludge Pokemon. It appears in filthy areas, and loves to eat sludge, particularly sludge that originates from factories." explained Lucy's Pokedex.

"That explains why I found it eating out of a trash can." noted Jake.

"Grimer!" exclaimed Jake's Grimer. For some strange reason, he found garbage to taste absolutely delightful. One man's trash was one Pokemon's treasure, apparently.

"Well, let's see if we can capture some Pokemon, shall we? I'm sure that there are some nearby." said Lucy.

"Should we split up?" inquired Jake.

"If you say so..." answered Lucy as she went to search for Pokemon.

Sure enough, he noticed that there appeared to be a Rattata nearby. It was busy nibbling on a tree with its fangs.

Curious, Jake decided to give the Rattata a scan.

"Rattata, the Mouse Pokemon. It will chew on anything with its fangs, and is very agile." explained the Pokedex.

Unfortunately for Jake, his Rattata could easily sniff out his Grimer, and he promptly ran away.

"I guess it really is evil..." thought Jake. "I guess Pokemon catching isn't going to be so easy..."

Returning his Grimer into his Pokeball so that he could remain undetected, he came up with a plan. Immediately, he reached into his bag and pulled out some food to lure the Rattata out of hiding.

Sure enough, the Rattata returned to eat the food that had been laid out for it.

"Rattata!" cheered the wild Rattata.

"Gotcha!" exclaimed Jake as he threw a Pokeball.

This worked surprisingly well. In just a few seconds, the Pokeball stopped shaking.

"Huh, I guess I didn't even need to attack it. Beginner's luck, I guess." noted Jake.

He decided to release it from its Pokeball a few seconds later so that it could introduce itself.

"Hi there buddy! Welcome to the party, I guess." said the Team Rocket Grunt.

Jake's Rattata promptly dug into his bag for food.

"He must be really hungry." thought Jake.

It came out a few seconds later with some food in its mouth.

Curious, Jake decided to give the Rattata a closer scan...as it turned out, it was a male Rattata.

"That explains the longer whiskers and darker fur color..." noted Jake.

Jake's Rattata then stood on his hind legs, waiting for directions.

"I suppose you could help us find food, I guess. You seem like you're going to need a lot of it." ordered the Team Rocket Grunt.

The Mouse Pokemon nodded, and he went to search for food.

"I'm starting to like being a Pokemon trainer." he thought.

Meanwhile, Lucy was searching for a second Pokemon of her own. Surely, there had to be one somewhere.

Suddenly, Lucy's Clefairy pointed out that there was a nest nearby. Maybe that would be a good place to look for Pokemon?

However, as she did so, she noticed that was a Pidgey standing outside the tree. Curious, she decided to give it a scan.

"Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. Very docile, it will usually kick sand to defend itself rather than fight back." said the Pokedex.

As it turned out, the unfortunate Pidgey had apparently fallen out of its nest...and due to the fact that it couldn't fly too well yet, it was having a hard time getting back up.

"Pidgey!" cried out the unfortunate bird Pokemon.

Lucy decided to give the Pidgey a hand. She promptly picked it up and put it back inside its nest.

"There you go, little buddy!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Pidgey!" cheered the Pidgey. It was so nice to finally get to go back home.

Curious, she noticed that there seemed to be two other Pidgey already in the nest. They were busy squabbling with each other.

"Oh dear...they don't seem to get along with each other, now do they?" thought Lucy. Apparently, they had kicked their sister out.

Giving them all a scan, she discovered that the Pidgey she had placed back inside its nest was female, and that she had two brothers.

"Interesting..." thought Lucy.

"Pidgeot!" bellowed a Pokemon from behind.

Curious, she decided to look behind her, and promptly jumped. Apparently, this was their mother.

"Pidgeot!" exclaimed the Pidgeot angrily. Apparently she thought that she was trying to hurt her young.

"Sorry, sorry!" apologized Lucy. "I wasn't trying to hurt your chicks, I swear! I just placed one of your young back into its nest..."

"Clefairy!" answered Lucy's Clefairy, defending her owner.

Curiously enough, the Pidgeot remembered that her two sons had fought over space in their nest earlier today, and decided that the Pokemon Trainer's story added up. She personally thought that she should have a talk with them later.

She also remembered that beginning Pokemon Trainers would often pay the route she and her children a visit in order to search for Pokemon to collect...and decided that her daughter would be in good hands.

Suddenly, the Pidgeot reached forward and grabbed her daughter out of her nest and handed her to Lucy.

"What? You're giving me your daughter to be my Pokemon? Thank you!" exclaimed Lucy.

Pulling out a Pokeball, she promptly sucked it inside.

"Guess it's my lucky day." thought Lucy as she obtained her second Pokemon.

The Pidgeot waved farewell to Lucy as she went back to tell Jake the good news.

Sure enough, he was standing there holding out the Pokeball for his own Pokemon.

"Guess what! I caught a Pokemon!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Good for you. I managed to catch one too...I had to use some of our supplies to lure it out though...so I'm having it get us some new ones." explained Jake.

"Oh...do you think he'll be back soon?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"He's pretty fast, so yes." noted the male Pokemon trainer.

Sure enough, his Rattata returned with an apple in his mouth.

"Rattata!" cheered Jake's Rattata.

"Very good." said the Team Rocket Grunt as his Rattata placed it into his bag.

"So...which Pokemon did you get?" inquired Jake.

Lucy promptly pulled out her Pokeball and released her Pidgey from her Pokeball.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed Lucy's Pidgey.

"I see you got a Pidgey..." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Yeah...her mother was rather generous..." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"So, should we head to Viridian City, now?" inquired Jake.

"Mm-hmm!" answered Lucy.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed her Clefairy.

And the two Pokemon trainers continued headed to their destination.

_Now let's check on our other two protagonists..._

Ned was checking his map to see how long it would take to reach the nearest Pokemon center.

"According to this map, we should be there in just a few minutes." informed Ned.

"Good, because I don't want a long wait." answered Chris.

"By the way, my Dad got me a Pokedex...he said that I could use it to scan Pokemon to learn more information about them...he actually helped Professor Oak make one, in fact." explained the dorky Pokemon trainer.

"Really?" inquired Chris.

"Yeah...he also gave me a spare in case I lost mine..." noted Ned.

"Why would I want one of those? Those are for geeks..." inquired Chris.

"Well, they do have a learning guide for new Pokemon trainers detailing type advantages and catching Pokemon, if you're interested in that." explained the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Maybe I'll give it one look..." said Chris as Ned handed her a black Pokedex.

Gathering information, she discovered that it was easier to catch Pokemon if she tried putting a status ailment on them first.

"I assume this includes putting them to sleep?" thought Chris.

"Funny...I thought that Pokedexs only came in Red..." questioned the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"Professor Oak started distributing them in different colors...mine's white." explained the dorky Pokemon trainer.

"Oh." answered Chris.

Curious, she decided to call out her Jigglypuff and give it a scan.

"Jigglypuff, the Balloon Pokemon! It sings a song to make its enemies fall asleep!" exclaimed the Pokedex in a booming voice.

"Whoa, this one's loud!" exclaimed Ned.

"I think I'm going to like this Pokedex then...maybe they aren't just for nerds." noted Chris.

Curious, Ned decided to give his Eevee a scan as well. Though it was gradually recovering from the beatdown Chris's Jigglypuff had given it, it was still in fairly bad shape.

"Eevee, the Evolution Pokemon. It can evolve if exposed to elemental stones." explained the Pokedex in a soothing voice.

"I like this Pokedex...it's relaxing." noted Ned.

"I think it's boring." answered Chris.

Curious, Chris decided to scan the Spearow as well.

"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokemon! It has to flap its wings really hard to stay in the air!" exclaimed the Pokedex.

The Spearow must have heard the Pokedex, because it flew towards them.

"You just made this too easy." taunted Chris.

Using her Jigglypuff to sing a song to make the Spearow fall asleep, she then tossed a Pokeball at it. Due to the fact that it was still slumbering, it did not put up much of a struggle, and thus was caught easily.

"Well, that's my second Pokemon." acknowledged the tomboy.

"I wish I had a second Pokemon..." said Ned.

"Meh, I'm sure you'll get your own in due time." answered Chris. "Now don't forget about paying back your debt!"

"Right...I actually haven't forgotten about that." responded the nerd.

"You better not." replied the tomboy.

Suddenly, Chris's Spearow popped out of its Pokeball and started pecking Ned on the forehead.

"What the-why is it doing that?" inquired Ned.

"It has too much free time on its hands...speaking of which, what gender is it?" inquired Chris.

"Try scanning it with your Pokedex again to find out." answered the nerd.

The tomboy did as she was told...which established the Spearow to be male.

"So it's a dude? Sounds good!" exclaimed Chris.

"Funny, I was thinking that you would want a female Pokemon..." spoke Ned.

"Maybe the Pokemon you catch will turn out to be female." answered Chris.

"Right...anyways, can you recall it? I'm starting to get a headache." answered the nerd.

"Fine." answered the tomboyish Pokemon trainer as she did as Ned asked.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Pokemon Center. Immediately, a few Chanseys greeted them.

"Chansey!" exclaimed the friendly Chanseys.

"Excuse me, miss, I really need you to heal my Eevee! He got really beat up during a Pokemon battle and I'm starting to get worried about him." exclaimed Ned.

"My Jigglypuff did it." answered Chris.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed her Jigglypuff.

"I see...alright then, let's give him a look." explained Nurse Joy.

Ned delivered him to Nurse Joy.

"Well, dear Pokemon trainer, he shouldn't take too long for me to heal. Just give me a few minutes." said Nurse Joy.

"By the way, I see that you're travelling with a friend. It's good to see that you're helping another Pokemon trainer with their Pokemon journey." noted the nurse.

"What? He's not my friend!" exclaimed Chris.

Ned frowned sadly.

"I thought you were my friend..." said the nerd.

Chris sighed.

"Fine. We're friends. Happy now?" inquired Chris as she shook hands with Ned.

"Uh-huh! I feel like throwing a party! Finally someone's acknowledged me!" exclaimed the nerd.

Chris raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" she inquired.

Nurse Joy took Ned's Eevee to the infirmary.

Shortly afterwards, Ned noticed that there were two female Pokemon trainers nearby. He got the strong urge to flirt with them...which he did.

"Hi there girls! It's nice to see you! It's good to see that there are pretty Pokemon trainers around." spoke Ned.

"Um, thanks..." answered one of the female Pokemon trainers.

Unfortunately for Ned, Chris noticed what he was doing...and for some strange reason, she was not amused by what her partner was up to.

Eventually, she decided to put a stop to it.

"Say Jigglypuff? Why don't you go out there and impress them with their singing? Surely they're fans of yours." answered Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded and began to sing a song.

Suddenly, Ned and the female Pokemon trainers started to fall asleep.

"Well, off to Dreamland...I go..." murmured the nerdy Pokemon trainer as he fell asleep.

"Oh dear, it looks like they weren't fans of yours after all...and to think you went to so much trouble to write a song too." noted Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff was very mad.

Suddenly, she pulled out a marker and started scribbling on the offending Pokemon trainer's faces. Pretty soon, they started to look ridiculous.

"Funny, I didn't actually tell you to do that...but this is hilarious!" exclaimed Chris.

Eventually, she collapsed onto the floor, laughing her head off.

Chris's Jigglypuff smiled. She was glad to see that her Pokemon trainer was supportive of her singing, even if her partner wasn't.

Suddenly, Chris noticed that although they were still standing upright, Nurse Joy's Chanseys had fallen asleep too.

"Er, how am I supposed to explain this to Nurse Joy?" inquired the tomboy.

A few seconds later, Nurse Joy walked into the room holding onto Ned's Eevee, who was good as new.

"Alright, I'm back with your Ee-what happened here?! Why is everyone sleeping?!" exclaimed Nurse Joy.

She promptly looked at Chris, who was standing there with her Jigglypuff. She chuckled nervously and sweatdropped.

"Uh...aheh heh heh...I guess my Jigglypuff doesn't know her own singing voice..." said the tomboyish Pokemon trainer.

"Jigglypuff?" inquired Chris's Jigglypuff.

Nurse Joy promptly facepalmed.

"I'm starting to wonder if I'm getting paid enough for this..." said the nurse.

_Well, Jake, Lucy, and Chris have all earned their first Pokemon...as for Ned, he's going to have to wait a little longer...especially now that he's taking a snooze! Heh heh heh!_

_And yes, I used one of the anime's gags for this chapter...and I'll be using it again in the future. Why you ask? Because it's funny! At least I think so._

_In the next chapter, Lucy and Jake are going to arrive in Viridian City...but they're going to have to prepare for trouble._


	6. Chapter 6: Preparing For Trouble

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, two of our heroes are going to bump into a certain trio of Team Rocket members...not good. But not to worry, I assure you that they're going to get out of it this fine...though Lucy's Clefairy will be in danger of being stolen...and of course nobody wants that._

_Meanwhile, two of our heroes are going to go check out the Indigo Plateau Conference...even though it isn't actually open yet and they don't have any badges...oh well, at least they can have a tour right?_

**Chapter 6: Preparing For Trouble**

Chris and Ned were the first ones to arrive in Viridian City. After all, Chris was looking forward to obtaining her first Gym Badge.

Personally, Ned was wondering if he should try battling a Gym Leader as well. To be honest, he had been rather content simply collecting Pokemon and trying to complete the Pokedex his Dad gave him.

However, as it turns out, they had a problem...the Viridian City gym was not open.

"What?! The gym's closed? Whose leg does the gym leader think they're pulling?" inquired Chris.

"That's weird, the sign outside the gym doesn't actually say who the gym leader is..." noted Ned.

"Darn it! Now I can't hunt them down!" exclaimed the angry Pokemon trainer.

"Just like you're hunting me down?" inquired Ned.

"Yeah, pretty much." answered Chris. "Personally, I don't think you're cut out to be a Gym Leader though."

"What do you mean by th-oh very funny!" exclaimed Ned.

"Yeah...you can't be a Pokemon Gym Leader if you can't even keep track of your own Pokemon..." said Chris.

Ned dropped his head sadly.

"Ah well...I suppose we might as well head to the Indigo Plateau Conference..." said the tomboy.

"But we don't have any badges yet." pointed out the nerd.

"Thanks for putting out the obvious, but did you know that they're giving out tours?" inquired Chris.

"They are?" asked Ned.

"Yeah...generally, they explain the rules of the Indigo Plateau Conference and all that jazz. They also offer a course that allows you to get into the conference without having eight badges if you pass...but I'm not interested in that." said Chris.

"Funny, I went to a school to learn how to be a Pokemon Trainer before I actually got my license...I actually did pretty well." notified Ned.

"Really?" inquired Chris.

Ned handed Chris his report card.

"Wow...I'm actually impressed." said the tomboy.

"Yeah...I studied really hard for my exams..." explained Ned.

"Too bad you didn't actually train your Eevee." pointed out Chris.

"I know." answered Ned, who dropped his head sadly.

"Anyways, let's head to the conference, shall we?" inquired the tomboy.

"Mm-hmm." nodded the geek.

And so the two of them went to check out the tour. Sure enough, there was a man standing guard in front of the entrance.

"So, are you here for the tour?" asked one of the guards for the facility.

"Yes, we are." answered Chris.

"Alright then. Follow me." said the guard.

Immediately, he sent them to a room with several different illustrations detailing all they needed to know about the Indigo Plateau Conference.

"Basically, the Indigo Plateau Conference is one giant tournament. If you win a battle, you rise through the ranks...but if you lose, sorry, but you're out of the competition...and you'll have to head back home." explained the guard.

"Don't assume that's going to happen to me." said Chris.

"Really? I'll get booted out of the competition if I lose just one battle?" inquired Ned nervously.

"Yes...I'm afraid so. The conference can be cruel like that. In the event of a stalemate...well, we'll just have to flip a coin." explained the guard.

"I see..." noted Chris.

"Of course, you can also get disqualified from the conference if you engage in behavior that is not appropriate for a Pokemon trainer...we want them all to fight with honor." continued the guard.

"I better not break the rules then." said Ned.

"You really shouldn't. You'd be surprised how unsportsmanlike Pokemon trainers can be. But I trust you won't behave that way." explained the instructor.

"Right..." answered Chris. Though she was rather aggressive about being a Pokemon trainer, she did not want to cheat.

"Anyways, when you start off, you'll have to fight your opponents three on three...this will continue on until your sixth battle, in which you will battle with all six of your Pokemon, assuming you aren't eliminated first." explained the instructor.

"Are you saying that I'm going to lose?" inquired Chris with annoyance.

"No, I'm not, you have as much of a chance to win the competition as everyone else. In order to get to the finals, you'll have to compete on four different battlefields...each of which are designed for a particular type of Pokemon." said the guard.

"Rock, Ice, Water, and Grass, right?" inquired Ned.

"Yes...though considering the conference's popularity...we might try adding a few new arenas for a change. Just wanted to let you guys know." explained the guard.

"I see..." noted Chris.

"Anyways, that's pretty much it. Of course, you manage to win the tournament, you'll get a shiny trophy..." explained the guard.

"Awesome!" exclaimed the tomboy.

"And if you do well enough in the tournament, one of the Elite Four just might be interested in battling you...and if you're really lucky, the champion might want to battle you." said the guard.

"Wow!" exclaimed Ned.

"Yeah...believe it or not, we've had quite a few champions over the years...it's a rather fleeting title..." said the guard.

Sure enough, there were several portraits nearby of the several different champions Kanto has had.

"Let's see if we can get to the Hall of Fame, shall we?" inquired Chris.

"Now to think of it...I'm starting to wonder if I should start participating in the Pokemon League too...how far will I get?" questioned Ned.

"By all means, if you want to participate in the Pokemon League, go right ahead. Come back and stop by again once you have eight badges." explained the guard.

He promptly showed them the door.

"He sure was encouraging..." noted Ned.

"Well, now we know how to beat the Indigo Plateau Conference. Now let's go out there and get some badges!" exclaimed Chris.

"But the gym in Viridian City is closed..." pointed out the nerd.

"I'm sure the Gym Leader will open up eventually...they won't be able to hide from us forever." said the tomboy.

"If you say so." answered the nerd.

And so, they went out to search for Pokemon badges.

_Well, let's check on our other duo..._

As it turns out, Lucy and Jake had arrived in Viridian City a few minutes later than Chris and Ned did.

"This sure is a big city, isn't it?" inquired Jake.

"Yeah...I heard that it's not as big as Saffron or Celadon though..." pointed out Lucy.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy. Oddly enough, during her travels on her spaceship, she had noticed that there were Pokemon gyms there as well.

"Fair enough." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

Suddenly, Lucy noticed that there was a police car nearby.

"Say it looks like Officer Jenny is here...I wonder what's the crime this time." said the Pokemon trainer.

"What?!" Jake exclaimed.

Sure enough, Officer Jenny was in fact in Viridian City...and she was currently talking to an old man.

"What seems to be the problem?" inquired Officer Jenny.

"Someone stole my coffee mug!" bellowed the old man.

"Really? I seem to recall you telling me last week that people were trespassing on your property...even though all they were trying to do was head to Viridian Forest." noted the police officer.

"Well, this time is different! I've been robbed! You've got to help me!" exclaimed the old man.

"I see..." answered the irritated Officer Jenny.

Jake promptly began to panic, realizing that he was still wearing his Team Rocket uniform.

"Oh man! I've got to change out of these clothes now! Quick, where is the nearest clothing store?" he screamed.

"It's right over there. Why?" inquired Lucy.

"Clefairy?" asked Lucy's Clefairy curiously. Was he hiding something from them?

"Thank you!" answered Jake as he ran into the clothing store.

A few minutes later, he came out wearing blue instead of the black uniform with an R on it he was wearing earlier...though he was still wearing his black hat.

"Wow...you look a lot better than before, Jake!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Um, thanks..." answered Jake. Personally, he wondered if wearing a Team Rocket uniform actually suited him.

Nonetheless, he still felt uncomfortable with Officer Jenny nearby, and decided that he should try heading in the other direction.

"Er, I think we should head back to Route 1..." said Jake.

"But we just got out of there!" pointed out Lucy.

"Clefairy?" asked Lucy's Clefairy curiously. Why would he want to head back?

"I just figured it'd be nice to walk through it again...did you know that you could see your mansion from there?" inquired Jake.

"That's actually a pretty good point..." said Lucy. "But are you sure we should be wasting time?"

"Clefairy." agreed Lucy's Clefairy. Thought it would be nice to see Lucy's mansion again, they only had so much time before the Indigo Plateau Conference was underway.

Suddenly, they noticed that there seemed to be rustling in the nearby bushes.

"Say, do you hear something?" inquired Jake.

"Do you?" asked Lucy.

"Meowth!" exclaimed a mysterious voice.

"Wait a minute..." said the male Pokemon trainer.

Out of nowhere, two Team Rocket Grunts (and their Meowth) jumped out of the bushes. Lucy and Jake both jumped in surprise.

"Who are you guys?" inquired Lucy.

Jake immediately recognized them as Jessie and James, the bumbling duo that were considered Team Rocket's laughingstocks. And as usual, they had their talking Meowth with them.

Giving the Meowth a scan out of curiousity, Lucy found out some information.

"Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokemon. On a nightly basis, it searches for loose change. It loves circular objects." explained Lucy's Pokedex.

"How true..." thought Meowth.

"Allow us to explain who we are with our song." said James.

"A song? Is it any good?" asked the female Pokemon trainer.

"Of course it is! Watch and learn!" answered Jessie.

"Not this again..." thought Jake, recalling how they had sang the song the first time he had met them.

"Prepare for trouble!" exclaimed Jessie.

"And make it double!" continued James.

"To protect the world from devastation!" shouted Jessie.

"To unite all people within our nation!" bellowed James.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" yelled Jessie.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" squealed James.

"Jessie!" shouted Jessie.

"James!" yelled James.

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" exclaimed Jessie.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight fight fight!" warned James.

"Meowth! That's right!" bellowed Meowth.

Lucy promptly applauded the three Pokemon trainers.

"Wow! You're really good at singing!" complimented the female Pokemon trainer.

"Thanks. We've been singing it for years." pointed out James.

"Really?" inquired Lucy.

Jessie nodded.

Oddly enough, Lucy noticed that Jake seemed to be banging his head against a nearby wall. Was he trying to get the song out of his head?

"Wait, did your Meowth just talk?" inquired Lucy.

"Yes, I did! What, did you think Pokemon were unable to speak?" inquired Meowth.

"Wow..." murmured the female Pokemon trainer.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy in astonishment. Oddly enough, despite being part of a very intelligent race of Pokemon, none of the Clefairies had actually perfected human speech. Then again, she did hear they were building a translator.

"So...are you going to surrender, or are you going to fight us?" inquired James.

"Hmm..." wondered Lucy.

Jake promptly stopped banging his head against the wall to tell his colleagues some bad news.

"Um, guys...I wouldn't want to make too much of a scene if I were you." pointed out Jake.

"Why not?" inquired Meowth.

"In case you haven't noticed, Officer Jenny's right over there." explained the Team Rocket Grunt, pointing to the police cars in the distance.

Team Rocket promptly looked around, and gasped in horror.

"He's right! Officer Jenny really is here!" exclaimed James.

"What are we going to do?!" screamed Meowth.

"Let's just steal her Clefairy and run away!" bellowed Jessie.

Immediately, James snatched away Lucy's Clefairy...and prepared to make a run for it.

"My Clefairy! Jake, do something!" exclaimed Lucy.

Jake promptly sighed.

"I sure hope that my colleagues will forgive me this..." thought Jake as he released his Grimer from his Pokeball.

"Grimer!" exclaimed Jake's Grimer.

"Say...Grimer, do me a favor and help Lucy's Clefairy, will you? She's kind of in danger..." explained Jake.

The Sludge Pokemon nodded, and converted himself into a puddle.

The Team Rocket trio, not watching where they were going, ended up tripping directly over him.

"Aaugh!" bellowed James as he fell on his face.

Fortunately, this gave Lucy's Clefairy the opportunity to escape from Team Rocket's clutches, and she latched herself to her back once more.

"Officer Jenny!" exclaimed Lucy.

Turning around, Officer Jenny noticed what was happening.

"What the-it's Team Rocket!" exclaimed Jenny. "I have to arrest them now!"

"But what about my coffee cup?" inquired the old man.

"It was in the sink the whole time." pointed out the officer.

"Oh." realized the elderly man.

"Why didn't you check there?" inquired his wife.

"Whoops." answered the man.

Realizing that Officer Jenny was on to them, Team Rocket realized that they had to flee.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to scram...but we'll get you, and your little Clefairy too!" exclaimed Meowth.

"Aren't you going to say that you're blasting-"

"Maybe some other time!" interrupted James.

Jake scratched his head.

"Toodles!" exclaimed Jessie.

And so the three of them ran away.

Officer Jenny came by a few seconds later.

"Darn it! They got away! I knew I should have paid more attention..." said Officer Jenny.

"I'm sure you'll get them some day, Officer Jenny." encouraged Lucy.

"If you say so...though to be honest, I don't really think they're much of a threat to Kanto...they never really seem to succeed in any of their goals." pointed out the officer.

"You can say that again." thought Jake.

"On the other hand, their boss sure is...I've wanted to arrest him for ages, but he always hides himself pretty well." noted Jenny.

"I'm sure you'll catch him too." encouraged Lucy again.

Jake sweatdropped.

"Thanks for the words of encouragement. Now if you excuse me I've got to run...Team Rocket's really been doing a number on Kanto lately." explained Officer Jenny.

"Yikes." answered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy felt nervous. Were there other Team Rocket members out there that wanted a rare Pokemon just like her?

"See you later!" exclaimed Officer Jenny as she drove off.

Lucy, her Clefairy, and Jake's Grimer all gave her a wave of farewell.

Jake then let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally, she's gone..." thought the Team Rocket Grunt.

"What?" inquired Lucy.

"Nothing! Nothing! Let's head to Viridian Forest, shall we?" inquired Jake.

"Right, of course." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Grimer!" cheered Jake's Grimer.

"Wait, didn't you want to head to Route 1 a few minutes ago?" asked the female Pokemon trainer.

"I had a change of heart!" exclaimed Jake.

"OK..." answered Lucy.

And so the two of them set off to Viridian Forest.

"Phew...I was worried for a moment that I was going to get arrested..." thought Jake. Thankfully, he had fought the law and he had won...for now.

_Well, it looks like Lucy was lucky that Officer Jenny was nearby...though of course the same could not be said for poor Jake or for Team Rocket._

_But it's not going to be the last we're going to see of them...oh no. Can you guess whose going to encounter them next?_

_You'll find out in the next chapter...assuming you don't guess beforehand, of course. Oh, and Officer Jenny unfortunately won't be able to save them...so they're going to have to use their Pokemon to bail themselves out. Sorry, but just because she has identical sisters doesn't mean she can be omnipresent._

_Besides, that would just be plain creepy...and Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny are creepy enough as it is. Heh heh heh._

_Adios!_


	7. Chapter 7: Intertwining

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, we're going to have a little crossover...what do you mean you ask? Well guess what? Our two duos are actually going to encounter each other! Yeah...they're not actually going to combine into a quartet though...sorry if you were hoping that._

_Basically, they're all going to have Pokemon battles with each other to see who is the strongest...it's going to be a miniature tournament of sorts...sound like fun?_

_Oh, and a certain trio's going to show up again..._

**Chapter 7: Intertwining**

Chris and Ned were sitting outside the entrance to Viridian Forest, relaxing out in the sun.

"Do we really have to sit out here? I'm really hoping that the gym to Pewter City hasn't closed yet." said Chris.

"Sorry...I'm just exhausted from that long session explaining the Indigo Plateau Conference..." pointed out Ned.

"Really? Because I'm still full of energy." pointed out the female Pokemon trainer.

"You are?" inquired the nerd.

"Yeah...are you really tired or are you just being lazy?" inquired Chris.

"Um..." answered Ned, unsure how to respond to that question.

Suddenly, he noticed that there were two Pokemon trainers coming, and decided to change the subject.

"Hey! Someone's coming!" exclaimed Ned.

Curious, Chris noticed that there was in fact someone coming...two people in fact. Immediately, she wanted to challenge them to a Pokemon battle.

"Hey there! Are you heading to Viridian Forest?" inquired Chris.

As it turns out, it was none other than Lucy and Jake.

"Yes we are, why?" asked Jake.

"Well guess what? You're going to have to challenge us to a Pokemon battle first! Heh heh heh." answered Chris.

"What?" inquired Ned.

Suddenly, she grabbed Ned by the arm and lifted him to his feet.

"Really? Is this going to be two and two?" inquired Lucy.

"In a sense...I'm going to battle one of you...and my partner here is going to battle one of you as well. After two of us win their respective battles, we'll then have them battle each other. Sound good?" inquired Chris.

"Can I count myself out?" questioned Ned.

"No, you can't!" exclaimed the tomboy.

"Aww..." complained the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"I suppose we might as well...this should help our Pokemon earn experience." noted Jake.

Lucy nodded in agreement.

"Glad to see you agree. Now then, it's time for me to test out my new Spearow!" exclaimed Chris as she threw her Pokeball.

"Spearow!" exclaimed Chris's Spearow. Apparently, he was looking forward to battling another Pokemon.

"I suppose I'll be the one to battle her. Rattata, you're up!" said Jake as he threw his Rattata's Pokeball.

"Rattatta!" cheered Jake's Rattata. Was there any food nearby?

"Lucy, you up to battling her buddy?"

"Yes, I sure am." answered Lucy.

"If my partner insists...go, Eevee!" said Ned as he tossed his Eevee's Pokeball.

"Eevee!" spoke the Evolution Pokemon. It was nice to finally get to battle again after his stay at the Pokemon Center.

Lucy decided to choose her Pidgey.

"Pidgey, I choose you!" she exclaimed.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed the bird Pokemon as she was released from her Pokeball.

"Are we all set?" inquired Chris.

"Yeah, I think so." answered Jake.

"Alright then. Spearow, give that Rattata a Peck!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris's Spearow nodded and started pecking Rattata on the head, much to the latter's displeasure.

"Rattata, shake it off! Use Tackle!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Rattata did as he was asked, and knocked Spearow down...though it got up a few seconds later.

"Spearow, try Growling at it!" ordered Chris.

Chris's Spearow did so and started growling fiercely at Jake's Rattata.

"Spear!" bellowed the bird Pokemon.

This worked rather well. All of a sudden, Jake's Rattata lost much of his will to fight.

"Rattata..." murmured Jake's unfortunate Rattata.

"Keep it together Rattata! Try using Tail Whip!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Rattata did as he was asked...but unfortunately, Chris's Spearow wasn't too impressed.

"That's what I'm talking about! Keep on Pecking it!" exclaimed Chris.

The bird Pokemon started pecking Rattata once more.

"Rattata, use Tackle!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Rattata did as he was told...but this time, it wasn't nearly as effective.

"Uh-oh..." thought Jake.

"Perfect! Give it a Peck! Again!" exclaimed Chris.

At this point, Jake's Rattata caved in, and collapsed on the floor with swirls in his eyes.

"Darn it! He fainted!" exclaimed Jake as he recalled his unfortunate Rattata.

"Uh-huh!" cheered Chris.

"Well, now to use my Grimer, I guess." said the Team Rocket Grunt as he threw his Grimer's Pokeball.

Sure enough, his Grimer slithered out.

"Grimer!" exclaimed Jake's Grimer.

"You have a Grimer, huh? I wish I had one." said Chris.

"Gee, Chris isn't the girliest Pokemon trainer in the world..." thought Jake to himself.

Meanwhile, Lucy was busy sparring with Ned.

"Pidgey, use Tackle!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey did as she was told, and hit Ned's Eevee on his big head.

Unfortunately for Lucy, Ned's Eevee quickly shrugged it off.

"Eevee!" exclaimed the

"Why don't you return the favor, Eevee?" inquired Ned.

Ned's Eevee nodded, and hit Pidgey with a Tackle of his own. This was much more effective, and Lucy's Pidgey collapsed on the floor.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Pidgey..." murmured her Pidgey.

Fortunately, she ultimately turned out to be OK, though she was rather woozy.

"Pidgey, use Tackle again!" ordered Lucy.

Pidgey did as she was told...though as before this didn't do much good.

"Oh dear..." thought Lucy.

"Again, return the favor." ordered Ned.

Ned's Eevee Tackled the bird Pokemon once again, and this time, Lucy's Pidgey went down.

"Pidgey..." whimpered the unfortunate bird as she fainted.

The wealthy Pokemon trainer sighed as she returned her fainted bird Pokemon into her Pokeball.

"Well, looks like I win." said Ned.

"Actually, I've still got another Pokemon." explained Lucy.

"You do? I don't see its Pokeball..." noted the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Suddenly, Lucy's Clefairy hopped off of her back.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.

"Oh...now I get it." he answered.

"Yeah...for some strange reason, she didn't really like the idea of being inside a Pokeball...so I let her ride on my back." said Lucy.

"Oh...I thought she was just a backpack or something." spoke Ned.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy. Did she look like a backpack to him?

Meanwhile, Jake's Grimer was doing rather well against Chris's Spearow. As it turns out, Pecking it with its beak wasn't working out.

"Grimer?" inquired said Grimer, who wasn't feeling particularly injured by the Spearow's strikes.

"Spearow..." murmured Chris's Spearow sadly.

"Darn it! This isn't working!" exclaimed the unfortunate Pokemon trainer.

Suddenly, her Spearow started Leering at the Grimer, causing it to become nervous and start losing defense.

"What the-did you just learn a new move or something?" inquired Chris.

Chris's Spearow nodded.

"Keep on doing that then, I guess...I can't really think of anything else." said the tomboyish Pokemon trainer.

"Spearow!" exclaimed her bird Pokemon.

However, as it turned out, Jake wasn't going to sit around and let Chris's Spearow continue to lower his Grimer's defenses.

"Grimer! Use Poison Gas!" exclaimed the male Pokemon trainer.

"Grime!" squealed Jake's Grimer as it did so.

And sure enough, Chris's Spearow ended up being poisoned.

"Spearow..." murmured the unfortunate Spearow.

"Quick, Peck the Grimer before the poison makes you faint!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris's Spearow did as he was told...but as it turned out, he simply wasn't fast enough.

"Spearow..." murmured the bird as he fainted.

"Well, looks like it's just one and one for us now..." said the male Pokemon Trainer.

"Yes...Jigglypuff, I choose you!" exclaimed Chris as she tossed her Jigglypuff's Pokeball.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed Chris's Jigglypuff.

"Wait, your starter Pokemon's a Jigglypuff?" inquired Jake.

"I know..." answered the black-haired Pokemon trainer.

Meanwhile, Lucy was dueling Ned's Eevee with her Clefairy.

"Eevee, use Tackle!" exclaimed Ned.

Unfortunately, his Eevee was taking a nap. Apparently his battle against Lucy's Pidgey had exhausted him.

"This isn't good." he thought.

"Clefairy, use Pound!" exclaimed Lucy.

Clefairy promptly took advantage of the situation and struck Eevee into the ground. However, this caused him to wake up.

Suddenly, he tried something new. He immediately kicked sand into Lucy's Clefairy's eyes.

"Oh...looks like you've learned Sand-Attack!" exclaimed Ned.

This would not prove to be good news for his opponent, as all of a sudden she had a harder time seeing her foe.

But as it turned out, Lucy's Clefairy had a new trick of her own.

Suddenly, she began to applaud Ned's Eevee for the move he had done.

"Clefairy! Clefairy!" cheered the Fairy Pokemon.

Immediately, the Evolution Pokemon was unable to resist using Sand-Attack again...and again...and again.

"What did you just do?" inquired Lucy.

"Clef fairy clef." explained Clefairy.

"You used Encore to make him keep using Sand Attack? Why would you want to do that?" asked the Pokemon trainer.

Lucy's Clefairy then explained that she could then shield her eyes whenever the sand came, thus making the technique useless.

"Now I see where you're going with this!" exclaimed Lucy.

Unfortunately for Ned, he was unable to stop his Eevee from continuing the use of his new move, and Lucy's Clefairy shielded her eyes every single time.

Coupled by the fact Lucy had her Clefairy use Pound every single time, Ned's Eevee ended up being pummeled every single time without having a chance to defend himself...and he ultimately fainted.

"Not again!" exclaimed Ned.

"Alright! I won this time!" cheered Lucy.

"This is the second battle I've lost in a row..." complained the nerdy Pokemon trainer as he handed Lucy some Pokedollars.

"I'm sure you'll win a Pokemon battle eventually." answered Lucy.

"If you say so." nodded Ned optimistically. "What is your name, anyway?"

"My name's Lucy. Pleased to meet you." said Lucy as she shook Ned's hand.

"My name's Ned..." explained the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Meanwhile, Chris's Jigglypuff was sparring with Jake's Grimer.

"Grimer, why don't you use Poison Gas again...you seem rather good at using it." noted Jake.

Jake's Grimer nodded and gave his opponent a taste of his toxic vapors.

However, as it turned out, his plan had a flaw...due to the fact that Jigglypuff was a Balloon Pokemon, gasses did not hurt her much. In fact, she hardly felt the poison at all.

"Jiggly?" inquired Chris's Jigglypuff.

"I'm not sure why that gas didn't hurt you, but why question something I like?" questioned Chris.

"Jiggly!" squealed her lucky Jigglypuff.

"Oh man, this is bad!" exclaimed Jake.

And indeed it was. So far, he had used that particular technique to win his Pokemon battles...but with her Jigglypuff essentially immune to it, how was he going to win this time?

"Now then, let's make that Grimer fall asleep with that voice of hers, shall we?" inquired Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded and started to Sing.

"Don't listen to her!" exclaimed Jake.

Unfortunately, it was too late. His Grimer had already fallen asleep.

"How can it listen to your singing anyway? It doesn't even have ears! Not ones that I can see...anyway." exclaimed Jake.

"It can always hear what you're saying, can it not?" inquired Chris.

"True..." nodded the criminal Pokemon trainer.

"Anyways, Pound it for me while it's still sleeping, will you?" asked the female Pokemon trainer.

Jigglypuff nodded, and kept on Pounding Jake's Grimer. Though it was made of sludge, it could not forever withstand the assault, and eventually he fainted in his sleep.

Jake promptly sighed. That was his last Pokemon. He immediately handed Chris some money.

"Just ninety-nine thousand nin

"Well, at least you were more entertaining to battle than my partner was. My name's Chris." informed the female Pokemon trainer as she shook his hand.

"My name's Jake...wait, why does your hand feel slimy?" inquired Jake.

"I kind of spit on it before I shook hands with you..." explained Chris.

"Yuck...wait, isn't Chris a boy's name?" asked the male Pokemon trainer.

"It's short for Christine...though I really hope you aren't planning on calling me that." noted the female Pokemon trainer.

"I suppose I won't." answered Jake.

"Very good." nodded Chris.

_A few minutes later..._

"So let me get this straight...you lost to a girl again?" inquired Chris.

Ned nodded in agreement.

"Funnily enough I lost to a girl too...though I did manage to take out one of her Pokemon..." noted Jake.

"I was hoping that you would win..." said Lucy sadly.

"Well, he didn't...and now you're going to be facing me next." explained Chris.

"Really?" inquired the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Yeah...that's what I said earlier, didn't I?" inquired the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"Oh right...you said this was a mini-tournament..." remembered Lucy.

"Let's all go to the Pokemon Center so that we can battle our Pokemon again, shall we?" asked Chris.

"Right..." answered the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

And so off to the Pokemon Center they went.

_A few minutes later..._

"Alright, it's just you and me now...so I hope that you make this count." said Chris.

"I will." answered Lucy.

"Alright then...let's get it on! Spearow, let's go!" exclaimed the unfeminine Pokemon trainer as she threw her Spearow's Pokeball.

"Spearow!" exclaimed Chris's Spearow, ready to make another Pokemon faint.

"Pidgey, I choose you!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed her Pidgey.

"Spearow, give it a Peck, will you? Granted, you've done this several times already..." pointed out Chris.

Chris's Spearow nodded as he reached forward to peck Lucy's Pidgey in the face.

However, as it turns out, the Tiny Bird Pokemon had gotten more observant since her encounter with her Eevee. She promptly hopped out of the way and kicked sand into her opponent's eyes.

"Oh, looks like it can use Sand-Attack now..." said Lucy.

"Yeah yeah yeah...but my Spearow's still going to win!" exclaimed Chris.

"Try using Sand-Attack again!" exclaimed the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

Lucy's Pidgey did so, and kicked sand into her foe's eyes.

"Try Pecking it again!" exclaimed Chris.

Unfortunately for Chris's Spearow, due to the fact that he still had sand in his eyes, he had a hard time doing so.

"Pidgey, use Tackle!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey did so and made Chris's Spearow fall on the floor. However, he flew back up again.

"Well, Spearow, since you can't hit the side of a barn now, why don't you try using Leer?" inquired Chris.

Chris's Spearow nodded and glanced at Lucy's Pidgey, causing her to let her guard now.

But as it turns out, this would ultimately not do him much good.

"Pidgey, use Tackle!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey did so, and she got a critical hit. Chris's Spearow went down.

"Oh c'mon!" exclaimed the tomboyish Pokemon trainer as she recalled her Pokemon.

"Congratulations, Pidgey!" cheered Lucy.

"Pidgey!" cheered Lucy's Pidgey.

"Let's see if my Jigglypuff does any better." said Chris as she threw her Jigglypuff's Pokeball.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed Chris's Jigglypuff.

"Let's make that Pidgey face the music shall we? Use Sing!" exclaimed the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded and sang a song for Lucy's Pidgey, making the Tiny Bird Pokemon fall asleep.

"No!" exclaimed Lucy.

And as before, Chris took the opportunity to Pound her opponent into submission with her Jigglypuff, resulting in Pidgey fainting.

"This strategy always works well..." noted the tomboy.

"Well, Clefairy, you're up." said Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded as she detached herself from Lucy's back as before. Oddly enough, she once heard the story about a Jigglypuff that invaded a Clefairy spaceship and beat up every single Clefairy that was on board...simply because they had stolen her microphone.

She decided that it was best not to try to take away her mike, even if it would prevent Jigglypuff from singing.

Sure enough, Chris decided to make her Jigglypuff sing once more.

"Jigglypuff, let's make that Clefairy take a nap, shall we?" inquired Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded as she began to sing a song like before.

However, Lucy's Clefairy was prepared, and covered her ears so that she wouldn't hear the song.

Chris promptly frowned. That was one smart Clefairy.

"We might have to try something different..." noted the tomboy.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded, and curled herself into a ball to increase her defense.

"Er, you can use Defense Curl now?" inquired Chris.

Her Jigglypuff nodded.

"Try using Encore then!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded as she started applauding Jigglypuff, thus trapping her into using the move repeatedly.

However, as it turned out, her plan had a flaw...since the Balloon Pokemon kept on increasing her defense, her Clefairy quickly had a hard time doing damage to Jigglypuff.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed Chris's Jigglypuff as she dodged Lucy's Clefairy's attacks.

"This isn't good..." thought Lucy.

Eventually, the Encore wore off, and the Balloon Pokemon was allowed to select a particular move again.

"Jigglypuff, use Pound!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded and started pounding into Lucy's Clefairy. And wouldn't you know it, it was a critical hit.

"This isn't my Pokemon battle, is it?" inquired Lucy.

"I'm afraid not. Use Pound again!" answered Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff did so, and Lucy's Clefairy went down.

"Well, it looks like I'm the winner of this mini-tournament, heh heh..." said the tomboy as Lucy handed her some Pokedollars.

"How'd you get so strong?" inquired Ned.

"I may have paid a visit to an area full of high-level Pokemon..." pointed out Chris.

"Isn't that dangerous?" asked Lucy.

"Not for me, it wasn't." answered Chris.

"Jigglypuff?" inquired Chris's Jigglypuff. She remembered having to save her owner from a rampaging Tauros who wasn't happy about her invading his territory.

After Lucy and Chris paid a visit to the Pokemon Center once more, everyone was ready to resume their Pokemon journey.

"Well, off to the forest we go." said Lucy.

"Try not to get lost in the forest, you guys. Accidents can happen." pointed out Jake.

"Right...we'll try to be careful." answered Ned.

"What makes you think that we're going to get lost in the forest?" inquired Chris.

"Just wanted to let you guys know that it can be maze-like..." explained the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Whatever." retorted the tomboy.

As Jake and Lucy went into the Viridian Forest, Ned noticed that they left something behind.

"Er, you dropped your...thousand Pokedollars?" inquired the nerdy Pokemon trainer as he picked up the bill.

"A thousand Pokedollars? Really?" inquired Chris.

"Yeah...do you get the feeling that they're well off?" asked the nerd.

"Well, Lucy did give me a fair share of Pokedollars for defeating her...maybe we should ask her if she can help us pay off your debt?" asked the tomboy.

"Yeah...about that...she already wandered off into the forest...I think we're going to have a hard time finding her..." pointed out Ned.

"D'oh!" exclaimed Chris.

_Well, I hope you enjoyed that little crossover...anyways, in the next chapter, our heroes are all going to enter the Viridian Forest._

_Oh, and Chris and Ned are going to encounter a familiar trio...they never seem to give up...even when Ash Ketchum isn't involved. Heh heh heh heh._

_Farewell!_


	8. Chapter 8: Bug Catching

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter...two of the characters in my story are going to catch a bug Pokemon...and it's probably not going to be the Pokemon trainers you think they are...yeah, I like having fun with the Pokemon they catch..._

_Let's see if they catch anything cool, shall we?_

**Chapter 8: Bug Catching**

"It's nice to be able to go out and enter a forest for a change...it's full of fresh air and all." noted Lucy.

Her Clefairy nodded in agreement.

"Yeah...it sure is." agreed Jake.

Suddenly, his Grimer slithered out of his Pokeball.

"Um, I'm not sure that this such a good idea, buddy." pointed out the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Grimer?" inquired Jake's Grimer.

Sure enough, a few of the plants around the Pokemon began to wilt.

"See?" answered Jake.

"Grime..." murmured the slimy Pokemon sadly as he returned to his Pokeball.

"On the other hand, I think my Rattata will come in handy for finding our way to the other side...he has a pretty decent sense of smell..." pointed out Jake.

"Maybe I could use my Pidgey to get a bird's eye view of the forest..." said Lucy.

On cue, she released her Pidgey from her Pokeball.

"Can you help us find our way through?" inquired the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

Lucy's Pidgey, and started to fly her way up...

...but she didn't get very far, and fell down on her face.

"Oh dear...I guess she hasn't mastered the art of flying yet...sorry about that." sympathized Lucy.

"Pidgey..." said her Pidgey sadly as she returned to her Pokeball.

"I guess we're going to have to stick to my plan then..." noted Jake.

Lucy nodded in agreement.

Immediately, he sent his Rattata to find his way out of the confusing forest...and some food supplies while he was at it in case they had to spend a while there.

But as it turns out, the forest was not as big as they thought...as Jake's Rattata came back a few minutes later.

"Did you find the exit?" inquired Jake.

Jake's Rattata nodded with agreement.

"I guess this forest isn't as spacious as we thought..." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Maybe because it's for rookie Pokemon trainers?" inquired Lucy.

"Yeah...maybe...we're probably going to have to enter more places like this in the future though...I heard that there's an enormous cave called Victory Road that trainers have to go through to get to Indigo Plateau..." pointed out Jake.

"Really?" asked the female Pokemon trainer.

"Yeah...for some strange reason, it's full of high-level Pokemon...I'm personally starting to see why they have guards to prevent trainers from getting inside without eight badges..." noted the male Pokemon trainer.

"So, it's a test of strength for Pokemon trainers?" inquired Lucy.

"Yeah...pretty much...of course, once we get eight badges, we'll probably be able to handle anything, so I don't think it'll be that much of a bridge when we come to it." pointed out Jake.

"If you say so." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

Suddenly, Jake noticed that his Rattata had once again gotten an apple for him.

"You sure love apples, don't you?" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt.

Jake's Rattata nodded his head in agreement.

Lucy's stomach began to grumble.

"Say, why don't you give that to Lucy? She seems hungrier than I am..." pointed out Jake.

Jake's Rattata nodded as he gave Lucy the apple.

Suddenly, she noticed something strange.

"That's weird...this apple seems to have a hole in it...I wonder how that got there?" inquired Lucy.

Shortly afterwards, a Caterpie crawled out of the apple, much to her surprise.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Lucy.

Jake immediately noticed what had happened, and immediately he started to feel frightened. He heard that a significant amount of female Pokemon trainers screamed at the top of their lungs whenever they encountered their first bug Pokemon...

He promptly covered his ears, ready for the worst to happen...

...but as it turns out, he had nothing to worry about.

"Aww! How cute!" squealed Lucy.

Jake let out a sigh of relief. He had dodged a Hyper Beam.

"Caterpie?" inquired the hungry worm Pokemon.

Immediately, Lucy gave the Caterpie a scan.

"Caterpie, the Worm Pokemon. Its short feet have suction pads that it can use to climb up walls." explained the Pokedex.

Sure enough, the wild Caterpie left the apple and began to climb up a nearby tree.

"You think it will let me catch it?" inquired Lucy.

"You might have to battle it first..." pointed out Jake.

"It doesn't seem like much of a fighter to me..." noted the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

Her Clefairy nodded her head in agreement. After all, it was a rather small Pokemon.

"If you say so." answered Jake.

Immediately, she threw a Pokeball at the Caterpie. Apparently, Lucy was right, as the worm Pokemon did not put up much of a struggle.

Sure enough, there was a familiar ding sound.

"Wait...if that Pokemon you caught isn't a fighter...then how is it going to get experience?" inquired Jake.

"I suppose I'll have to think of something...maybe I could try having it to spar with another one of my Pokemon?" questioned Lucy.

"It better not be your Pidgey." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

Lucy sweatdropped.

"Right..." noted the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

Scanning her Caterpie's Pokedex...she discovered that it was a girl too.

"You sure seem to be gathering a lot of female Pokemon..." noted Jake.

"You think I'll catch a male Pokemon one day?" inquired Lucy.

"You're bound to get one eventually." said the Team Rocket Grunt.

"If you say so." answered Lucy.

_Meanwhile on the other side of the forest..._

"Darn it! We lost her!" exclaimed Chris.

"I'm sure we'll probably encounter her again..." noted Ned.

"Sure, buddy, sure..." explained the Pokemon trainer.

"Say, maybe you could use your Spearow to find her?" inquired the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Chris released her Spearow from her Pokeball. He did his best, but unfortunately he could not see her.

"Spearow." apologized her Spearow, shaking her head.

"Darn it!" exclaimed the tomboy.

Curious enough, Chris's Spearow also informed there that there seemed to be a Meowth hot air balloon nearby.

"A Meowth hot air balloon? Who would ride around in that?" inquired Ned.

"I just wonder where that wealthy little girl went off to..." answered Chris.

"It's not like she disappeared off the face of the earth..." encountered the nerd.

Suddenly, he noticed that there were several posters on the trees.

"Huh, how did these get here?" inquired Ned.

Curious, Chris decided to give them a closer look. Curiously enough, they were detailing several different Pokemon trainers that had gone missing.

One of them was a samurai carrying a sword, another was a tough-looking boy with a Sandshrew, yet another one was a pretty-looking girl with a Cubone, YET another one was a scientist who was researching Clefairy and wouldn't stop rhyming, and finally, one was a smug-looking boy that had abandoned his Charmander.

"Where did they all go?" wondered Chris.

"I sure hope Lucy doesn't end up like them..." worried Ned.

"I sure hope not...I've been waiting forever to make enough money to get another bike!" exclaimed the tomboy.

"It's only been a few hours..." pointed out the nerd.

"Who cares? I want another bike immediately!" exclaimed Chris.

"OK..." explained Ned. "Anyways, can we get some food from our supply bag? I got a ton of them from the Pokemart and I'm feeling really hungry..."

"Suit yourself, little man." answered the tomboyish Pokemon trainer.

Ned nodded...but as he did so...he noticed something strange...his bag seemed to be moving.

"What the-" he thought.

Curious, he decided to take a closer look...and he promptly screamed like a little girl.

Chris promptly raised an eyebrow.

"You scream like a little girl?" inquired the tomboy.

"Don't judge me!" exclaimed the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Curious, Chris decided to take a peek inside the bag...and discovered that there was a Weedle eating their food. She was not amused.

"What's the big idea?!" she exclaimed.

"Weedle?" inquired the curious Weedle. What was it doing wrong?

"That food is for us! Quit devouring it, you little pig!" bellowed the tomboy.

"Weedle..." said the hungry Weedle sadly, dropping its head.

Chris promptly grabbed the Weedle and dropped it outside the bag.

"Why don't you go find your own food?" inquired the tomboy.

"Weedle..." murmured the upset bug Pokemon as it scurried away.

As it did so, it caught Chris's Spearow's attention. Seeing though it ate some of its Pokemon trainer's food...maybe he should try taking a Peck out of it or two? That would be just desserts.

Deciding that would be a good idea, he promptly flew in front of the wild Weedle.

"Weedle!" exclaimed the unfortunate Hairy Bug Pokemon.

"Spearow!" exclaimed Chris's Spearow. Payback was going to be sweet...

...but as it turns out, though Chris was fairly aggressive about being a Pokemon trainer, she had limits to how far she was willing to treat a Pokemon.

"Hey! Hey! No eating other Pokemon!" exclaimed Chris.

"Spearow?" inquired Chris's Spearow.

"Just because it ate some of our food doesn't mean you should eat it instead. That's rather disproportionate, you know." pointed out the female Pokemon trainer.

"Spearow..." answered the bird Pokemon sadly.

Apparently, the wild Weedle appreciated what Chris had done, because it began to snuggle up against her leg.

"What the-" responded Chris in surprise.

"Hmm...interesting...it seems that since you told it off for eating your food and saved it from your Spearow...it thinks you're the queen Beedrill now." pointed out Ned.

"Weedle!" squealed the wild Weedle in agreement.

Ned gave the Weedle a scan.

"Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokemon. Often found in forests eating leaves, it has a poisonous stinger on its head."

"I can see that..." answered Chris.

"Ironically enough...the Pokedex says that it's a girl...heh heh." pointed out Ned.

The wild Weedle nodded her head. She hoped that she was going to be a queen Beedrill some day.

"Well, since you think I'm your queen now...I suppose you're inevitably going to hunt me down to the ends of the earth, just like my buddy here, am I right?" inquired Chris.

The wild Weedle nodded her head.

Chris sighed.

"Well, into the Pokeball you go...but don't eat my food unless I tell you to!" she exclaimed as she tossed her Pokeball.

"Weedle!" answered the wild Weedle in agreement as she was converted into energy.

Sure enough, there was a familiar ding.

"Well, let's just hope that my Weedle doesn't devour our food supplies..." noted Chris.

"I'm sure she'll be able to control her appetite..." answered Ned.

_Meanwhile..._

As it turns out, Team Rocket was on the prowl once again. For some strange reason, they never seemed to give up on their life of crime regardless of how much the other members of Team Rocket ridiculed them.

Of course, it was nice for them to not actually get sent blasting off for a change...though they got the feeling that was going to be short-lived.

"Thank goodness...or should I say badness? Hmm..." wondered Jessie.

"Well, our attempt to grab that girl's Clefairy didn't go too well...we almost got arrested!" noted James as they rode off in their hot air balloon.

"Curse you, Officer Jenny!" bellowed Meowth.

"I swear, she always seems to be everywhere regardless of where she goes...why can't she let us do something illegal for a change?" inquired Jessie.

"I heard that she has a bunch of identical twin sisters all over the world...really uncanny, don't you think?" inquired James.

"Funny, I happened to be born in a litter full of Meowths that looked just like me...what a strange coincidence..." noted Meowth, scratching his head.

"Anyways...how are we going to make it up to Giovanni now? There aren't any other Pokemon trainers in sight!" exclaimed Jessie.

"Really? Because I see two of them right down there..." pointed out James.

"Do they have any valuable Pokemon?" inquired the female Team Rocket Grunt.

Curious, Meowth decided to do something smart for a change. He took a quick sniff to detect the Pokemon the trainers had...he ended up getting some satisfying results.

"As a matter of fact, yes they do! One of them has a Jigglypuff while the other has an Eevee! Looks like we'll be making some money!" exclaimed the feline Pokemon.

"Is Officer Jenny nearby?" inquired James.

"No...apparently she isn't a forest ranger." pointed out Meowth.

"Perfect! Land the balloon already!" exclaimed Jessie.

James did as Jessie told him to.

_Time for Chris and Ned to prepare for trouble..._

"Say, do you get the feeling we're going to be in trouble soon?" inquired Ned.

"What makes you say that?" asked Chris.

"Just a hunch." answered the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Well, if it's really worrying you, I'll send out my Jigglypuff then." said the female Pokemon trainer.

"Jigglypuff!" Chris's Jigglypuff exclaimed as she was converted into matter.

"I'll send out my Eevee too." answered Ned, sending out his Eevee.

"Eevee!" Ned's Eevee exclaimed as he was sent out.

It turns out Ned was correct about them being in trouble, as a Team Rocket Hot Air Balloon landed right in front of them a few seconds later, much to their surprise.

"How did that get there?!" exclaimed Ned.

And if that wasn't surprising enough, two Team Rocket Grunts and a Meowth jumped out of it.

"Who the heck are you guys?" inquired Chris.

"It's motto time!" yelled Meowth.

"Motto time?" inquired Ned.

"Prepare for trouble!" exclaimed Jessie.

"And make it double!" bellowed James.

All of a sudden, Chris began to feel really bored.

"To protect the world from devastation!" sang Jessie.

"To unite all people within our nation!" continued James.

Chris began to yawn.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" bellowed Jessie.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" squealed James.

All of a sudden, Chris began to take a nap.

"Jigglypuff?" inquired her Jigglypuff, feeling a sense of deja vu.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" exclaimed the female Team Rocket grunt.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" yelled the male Team Rocket Grunt.

"Meowth! That's right!" bellowed Meowth.

Suddenly, the trio noticed that one of the Pokemon trainers they were singing their song for had fallen asleep. They were not amused.

"What? How dare you!" exclaimed Jessie.

Immediately, Meowth started to awaken Chris by scratching her face.

"Aah!" exclaimed Chris as she was woken up rather abruptly.

"What's the big idea?!" Ned screamed in rage. Apparently Chris being injured made him go berserk.

"Maybe next time you'll pay attention to our song!" exclaimed Meowth as he wandered back to the Team Rocket duo.

"Jigglypuff." sympathized Chris's Jigglypuff. She had felt their pain.

"What do you guys even want?" asked Chris, who was rubbing her scratched face.

"Are you going to surrender to us, or are you going to fight?" inquired James.

"I think we should surrender Chris...these guys look dangerous..." warned Ned.

"I got chased by a wild Tauros...I basically laugh at danger...I choose to fight." answered Chris.

"Very well." answered James.

Suddenly, the two Team Rocket members hurled their Pokeballs at the trainer duo. Sure enough, an Ekans and a Koffing appeared.

"Ekans!" exclaimed the enemy Ekans.

"Koffing!" bellowed the foe Koffing.

Chris decided to give Ekans a scan while Ned did the same for the Koffing.

"Ekans, the Snake Pokemon! It can swallow the eggs of bird Pokemon whole!" bellowed Chris's Pokedex.

"Eevee..." murmured Ned's Eevee nervously. Would it be interested in eating a small Pokemon like him?

"Koffing, the Poison Gas Pokemon. It is full of poisonous gases and can explode without warning." warned Ned's Pokedex.

"Jigglypuff?" asked her Jigglypuff curiously. Was there actually another type of balloon Pokemon out there?

"So...which one should we take on? There's two of us and two of them..." pointed out Ned.

"You take care of the boy, I'll take care of the girl." answered Chris.

"Sure thing...Eevee, Tackle the Koffing!" exclaimed Ned.

Ned's Eevee nodded and slammed into James' Koffing.

"Koffing, use Smokescreen...though admittedly this isn't a getaway this time..." demanded James.

His Koffing did so, causing Ned's Eevee to start to cough.

"You OK there, buddy?" inquired Ned.

Ned's Eevee nodded.

"Then use Tackle again!" exclaimed the nerd.

His Eevee hit James' Koffing once more.

"Koffing, use Smog!" demanded James.

Koffing did so...but since Ned's Eevee held his breath, this didn't actually hurt him.

However, he was starting to have a hard time seeing through all the smoke. Where had the Koffing gone?

The Evolution Pokemon got an idea...what if he tried a new technique?

Suddenly, Ned's Eevee started to shoot stars at James' Koffing.

"Yes! You've learnt Swift!" cheered the nerd.

"Eevee!" cheered his Eevee.

And as it turned out, Swift always hit an opposing Pokemon whenever it was used...even when the user Pokemon was wearing a blindfold.

Suffice to say, James' Koffing saw stars while he was hit by the attack...and after he got hit by it, too. Or in short, he had fainted.

"Yes! I've finally won a Pokemon battle!" cheered Ned as James gave him some Pokedollars.

"I've been losing for years..." complained the male Team Rocket grunt.

Meanwhile, Chris was dealing with Jessie and her Ekans.

"I better keep my Spearow away..." noted the tomboyish Pokemon trainer.

Chris's Spearow promptly flew away.

"Jigglypuff, this is your fight." informed Chris.

"Jiggly!" squealed her Jigglypuff.

"Ekans, use Bite!" ordered Jessie.

Jessie's Ekans nodded, and started Biting into Chris's Jigglypuff.

"Oh dear...I don't think it's fun to have fangs sinking into you, is it Jigglypuff? Why don't you try putting it to sleep with that voice of yours..." ordered Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded, and put Jessie's Ekans to sleep.

"Wake up!" bellowed Jessie.

Jessie's Ekans remained asleep.

"Perfect! Now use Pound!" ordered Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff did so and pounded into the snake Pokemon.

"I'm telling you to wake up!" demanded Jessie.

Jessie's Ekans' did not stir from her rest.

"You snooze, you lose. Give it another Pound!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff pounded into the snake Pokemon once again...

...and she ended up fainting.

Jessie promptly screamed in rage as she handed Chris some Pokedollars.

"Ninety-nine thousand and five hundred Pokedollars to go." thought the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

_A few minutes later..._

"Well, it looks like you two win." said James.

"Yes!" cheered Chris and Ned.

"But guess what? We're still stealing your Pokemon!" exclaimed Jessie.

"What?!" exclaimed the two Pokemon trainers.

The two Team Rocket members immediately ran up to them to snatch their Pokemon.

Immediately, Chris and Ned held on to their Jigglypuff and their Eevee respectively.

In Ned's case, this wasn't enough. In fact, Jessie effortlessly stole the Eevee from his hands.

"No!" exclaimed Ned.

"Eevee!" screamed the unfortunate Eevee.

But in Chris's case, this was enough.

"Can't...grab the Jigglypuff...she's...too strong..." murmured James as he tried to take away her Jigglypuff.

"You can't take away her Jigglypuff?" inquired Jessie.

James sadly shook his head.

"Let's just take the Eevee then..." sighed the female Team Rocket grunt.

The male Team Rocket Grunt nodded, and the two of them boarded their hot air balloon with their stolen Eevee in tow.

"What are we going to do?!" exclaimed Ned.

"Relax...I'll think of something...I hope." said Chris.

Suddenly, her Weedle released herself from her Pokeball.

"Er, do you want to help out?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

Chris's Weedle nodded. Immediately, she fired a String Shot and latched onto Ned's Eevee. Meowth tried to grab onto him, but he was too late.

"No!" exclaimed the trio.

Weedle then handed Ned's Eevee back to his owner.

"Thanks...you're pretty strong for a bug..." noted Ned.

"Weedle!" cheered Chris's Weedle.

Suddenly, Chris noticed that Team Rocket was still getting away.

"Funny...I can't help but get the urge to send them blasting off somehow...but how do I do that?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

On cue, her Spearow started flying up to the hot air balloon.

"What is he doing?" wondered Chris.

He then started pecking into the hot air balloon..and sure enough, he sprung a leak. The hot air balloon started to deflate, and Team Rocket was sent flying.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" exclaimed the trio as they went sent away, leaving behind a sparkle as they did so.

DING!

Chris's Spearow returned to her a few minutes later. Chris promptly used her Pokeball to return it to energy.

Oddly enough, her Jigglypuff seemed somehow traumatized...was she upset that her Spearow had burst another balloon? Fortunately, she got over it a few seconds later.

"Huh, I wonder how that sparkle got there." wondered Ned.

"I personally wondered that too.. Ah well, let's just head to Viridian Forest..." said Chris.

Suddenly, her Weedle began to glow.

"Er, why is she glowing?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"It must be evolving." answered Ned.

"Evolving?" inquired Chris.

Chris's Weedle nodded as she began to cocoon herself.

"Yeah...lots of Pokemon do it...whenever they do so, they become stronger..." pointed out Ned.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Chris.

Sure enough, her Weedle finished evolving...but she wasn't actually a Weedle anymore. She was a Kakuna.

"Er, you're a cocoon now?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

Her newfound Kakuna nodded as she gave it a scan.

"Kakuna, the Cocoon Pokemon! They harden their shells to protect themselves from predators!" bellowed Chris's Pokedex.

"Well, she sure evolved quickly..." noted Chris.

"Yeah...Weedles evolve fast...I also heard that Caterpies do too, oddly enough...we'll likely have to put more work in if we're going to evolve more Pokemon though..." pointed out Ned.

"Right...er, are any of my other Pokemon capable of evolving?" inquired the tomboy.

"Well, your Spearow should evolve into a Fearow into due time...as for your Jigglypuff, you'll need a Moon Stone." explained Ned.

Suddenly, her Jigglypuff shook her head.

"What? You don't want to evolve?" inquired Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff explained that she simply wanted to be a star.

"Oh...I see...fine..." answered the tomboy reluctantly. She was hoping that doing so would make her more powerful...but then again, she was stronger than an average Jigglypuff.

"Funnily enough...I don't think my Eevee wants to evolve too...I asked him one day if he wanted a particular elemental stone to evolve into a certain Eeveelution but he declined..." noted Ned.

"Eevee!" exclaimed Ned's Eevee.

"I guess he just wants to be normal." answered Chris.

Ned and his Eevee both nodded in agreement.

"Well, off to Pewter City we go." said the male Pokemon trainer.

"Right with ya!" exclaimed the tomboyish Pokemon trainer.

And off to Pewter City, they went.

_Well, Chris got a new Pokemon...and it didn't take long to evolve at all. No sirree! It didn't even last one chapter..._

_Of course, it's not going to take Lucy's Caterpie long to evolve too...in fact, she'll be evolving in the next chapter..._

_Oh, and in the same chapter, Chris and Ned will be arriving in Pewter City to challenge the gym leader...but it's not going to go quite the way they expected._


	9. Chapter 9: A First Badge

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, Ned and Chris are going to get their first gym badges...hurray! Though it's not going to be because of a Gym battle...it's going to be because of something else...heh heh heh._

_Oh, and Lucy and Jake are going to arrive in Pewter City too and challenge the Gym Leader too...though they'll actually have to use their Pokemon...can't let things be too easy for our heroes now..._

_Also, you're going to get to see why Brock left Professor Ivy. What, were you curious about that?_

**Chapter 9: A First Badge**

Sure enough, Chris and Ned arrived in Pewter City after their encounter with Team Rocket.

"Sheesh...I wonder what the heck was up with those two?" inquired Ned.

"Who cares? We took them down with ease!" exclaimed Chris.

"Yeah...but still, I'm worried that they might try to steal our Pokemon again..." worried the nerd.

"After I sent them flying away with my Spearow?" inquired the tomboy.

"Well yeah, but still!" exclaimed Ned.

"Whatever...let's just head to Pewter City so that we can get our gym badge!" exclaimed Chris.

Curious, Ned decided to see what was on the east side of the city. Sure enough, it led to another Pokemon route.

"Huh, I wonder what's on the other s-

Suddenly, a Pokemon trainer grabbed him by the ear and started dragging him back towards Pewter City.

"Let me go!" demanded Ned.

"Come back when you've got your first Gym badge!" bellowed the guy guarding the way out of Pewter City as he tossed him in front of the gym's entrance.

"Hmm...I guess he's not going to let us through unless we defeat the Gym Leader..." noted Chris.

"What is that guy's problem?!" bellowed Ned.

"As for that...I have no idea." answered Chris.

Curious, Ned decided to read the sign to see who the Gym Leader was. Interestingly enough, unlike the Gym Leader in Viridian City, he did not keep his identity a secret. According to the sign, his name was Brock, and he was a rock-solid Pokemon center.

"I take it that's supposed to be some sort of pun? Because it's not making me laugh." noted the tomboy.

"Yeah...apparently he's a rock-type Gym Leader...for some strange reason, they all specialize in a specific type of Pokemon...I'm not really sure why..." acknowledged the nerd.

"To make it easier for us to defeat them?" inquired Chris.

"It's probably just how the world of Pokemon works I guess..." spoke Ned. "Oddly enough, I heard that the gym leader here is also really flirtacious..."

"Just like you?" answered the tomboy.

"Yeah, pretty much...of course, I also heard that he once worked with a Pokemon professor...I believe her name was Professor Ivy..." noted Ned.

"Do you keep a picture of her in your room?" inquired Chris.

"Why yes I-wait, why are you asking me that?" asked the nerd.

"Just wondering...anyways, if he was formerly an assistant for Professor Ivy...why did he go back to being a Gym Leader?" asked the tomboy.

"I'm not really sure about that to be honest...nowadays he won't even mention her name." explained Ned.

"I wonder why not..." answered Chris curiously.

_Brock was enjoying his job as a Pokemon assistant very much. He got to hang out with Professor Ivy quite a lot, after all...though admittedly it was nice to be able to learn about Pokemon too._

_He was currently waiting for her to return from her research on the local Pokemon inhabiting Orange Islands...for some strange reason, they were the exact same types of Pokemon that lived in Kanto. It was really weird._

_However, as it turns out, he was going to discover something that was going to shock him horribly._

_Sure enough, Professor Ivy returned to her laboratory much like she had done before...but there was someone else with her this time. He looked to be a scientist as well._

_"Er, whose that friend of yours?" inquired Brock._

_"Oh him? He's my boyfriend, Dr. Pine." explained Professor Ivy._

_"What?!" exclaimed the Rock-type gym leader._

_"Pleased to meet you." answered Dr. Pine as he shook._

_Brock's jaw dropped in shock, and one of his eyes squinted._

_"Today's movie night between us...so would you mind looking after my lab a little longer? I've been dating him for six weeks and it's going really well for us..." explained Professor Ivy._

_"Noooooooooooooooooooooo!" bellowed Brock at the top of his lungs._

_He immediately ran away from the lab as fast as he could._

_"Funny, I thought he enjoyed working with me." said Professor Ivy._

_"Maybe he finally snapped underneath the pressure?" inquired Dr. Pine._

_"I always thought that I was lenient with him..." spoke the professor._

"Eh, maybe we're better off not knowing." said Chris.

"Probably not...you did say you just wanted to fight the Gym Leader and get on it, am I right?" inquired Ned.

"Yeah, pretty much. Let's go get our gym badges!" exclaimed the tomboy.

The nerdy Pokemon trainer nodded in agreement as they entered the gym.

Sure enough, the Gym Leader was waiting for them inside.

"Hello there! I take it you two are here to get your first Gym badge?" inquired Brock.

"We would have gotten one sooner...but the Viridian City gym was closed..." said Ned.

"Ah yes...the Gym Leader never seems to be there when you need them to, am I right?" asked Brock.

Ned nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, it's time for our Gym b-"

Brock was cut off when suddenly he noticed that there was a pretty girl with Ned...and just like that, he had a sudden change in character.

"You are so beautiful! I can't believe I've gotten the opportunity to meet someone like you! This is the best day of my life!" exclaimed Brock.

"What the-" inquired Chris.

"Please tell me your name!" demanded the Rock-type gym leader.

"Um, it's Christine...but call me Chris." explained the female Pokemon trainer.

For some strange reason, Ned felt the strange urge to yell at Brock for the way he was behaving...but he wasn't quite sure why given that was the way that he typically interacted around girls himself.

"Um, listen...we're here for a gym b-"

"Say no more!" exclaimed Brock as he handed Chris a Boulder Badge and some cash.

"Er, can I have a badge too?" inquired Ned.

"Anything for a friend of a pretty girl!" exclaimed the Gym Leader as he did the same for Ned.

Chris and Ned walked out of the gym a few minutes later.

"Well, that gym was a disappointment." noted Chris.

"At least we finally have our first gym badge." spoke Ned.

"True...but I sure hope that the rest of the Gym Leaders put up more of a fight than he did..." complained the tomboy.

"Funny, I heard that Brock was actually the weakest Gym leader in Kanto..." noted the nerd.

"Why doesn't that surprise me..." spoke Chris.

"Well, hopefully that guy standing guard right outside the city will let us through now..." said Ned.

"Right..." answered the tomboy.

_Now let's check on our other heroes..._

As it turns out, two Bug Catchers had decided to pick a fight with Lucy and Jake on their way to Pewter City.

"Let's get them, Caterpie!" exclaimed one of the Bug Catchers. This particular one had decided to pick a fight with Lucy.

Lucy decided to send out her own Caterpie for this battle.

"Caterpie!" cheered Lucy's Caterpie.

"Caterpie, use Tackle!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

Lucy's Caterpie nodded and started tackling into her opponent.

However, the Bug Catcher decided to make his Caterpie do the same.

"Caterpie, use Tackle!" demanded the Bug Catcher.

"Caterpie!" exclaimed the enemy Caterpie as he pummeled into Lucy's Caterpie.

"Caterpie, use String Shot!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Caterpie did as she was asked, but as before the Bug Catcher decided to do the same thing.

"Caterpie, use String Shot!" ordered the bug catcher.

"Caterpie!" bellowed the enemy Caterpie as he tied up Lucy's Caterpie.

"Hmm...I'm starting to get the feeling that we're in a stalemate...should I send out my Pidgey?" murmured Lucy.

However, her Caterpie had a different idea in mind. She suddenly began to glow.

"What?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

As it turns out, she was evolving into a Metapod.

"Well, this might put me at an advantage...heh heh." noted Lucy.

Immediately, her opponent asked his Caterpie if he could so the same.

"Caterpie?" inquired his Caterpie.

The bug catcher promptly sighed. It looks like he was out of luck.

Lucy gave her new Metapod a scan.

"Metapod, the Cocoon Pokemon. Its vulnerable to attack while its shell is soft, exposing its tender body." explained the Pokedex.

"Let's hope that its shell hardens up soon then." noted Lucy.

As if on cue, her new Metapod began to Harden itself.

"Metapod!" exclaimed Lucy's Metapod.

Unfortunately for the Bug Catcher's Caterpie, he was unable to penetrate the Metapod's shell.

"C'mon! You can do it!" exclaimed the Bug Catcher.

But as it turned out, it could not, and it collapsed from exhaustion.

The Bug Catcher accepted his loss, and handed Lucy a small amount of cash.

Meanwhile, Jake was squaring off after another Bug Catcher who as it turned out had a Weedle.

He decided to send out his Rattata for the fight.

"Go, Rattata!" exclaimed Jake.

"Rattata!" exclaimed the Mouse Pokemon.

"Weedle, use Poison Sting!" exclaimed the Bug Catcher.

Weedle promptly did so and hit Rattata with his horn.

"Rattata, use Tackle!" exclaimed Jake.

His Rattata did as he was asked, and pummeled into the opposing Weedle. The Hairy Bug Pokemon promptly began to feel woozy.

"Weedle, use String Shot!" bellowed the Bug Catcher.

His Weedle did as he commanded, and started stringing up his adversary.

But as it turns out, this wasn't too effective, as the Mouse Pokemon simply gnawed his way through the string.

"Way to go, Rattata!" cheered Jake.

The Bug Catcher tried to have his Weedle use Poison Sting again, but Jake's Rattata beat him to the punch with a new technique he had learned.

Immediately, he hit the Weedle with a rapid attack, causing him to faint.

"Good to see you're learning new techniques, Rattata...I suppose we shold try using Quick Attack in the future...though in retrospect you're already fast..." informed Jake.

His Rattata nodded in agreement.

The Bug Catcher sighed and handed Jake a few Pokedollars.

A few minutes later, they were out of the forest...and soon enough, they arrived in Pewter City.

"Well, this is a nice city." noted Lucy.

"You think there's a gym nearby?" questioned Jake.

"I don't know...let's ask that guy standing in front of that exit over there..." stated the female Pokemon trainer.

But as the two of them found out, the guy guarding the way out of Pewter City wasn't a nice guy. In fact, he sent them both flying with his Machamp.

"Aah!" Lucy and Jake both screamed as they were sent flying.

"Come back with the Boulder Badge or else!" bellowed the vicious Pokemon trainer.

"Machamp!" yelled the vicious Pokemon trainer's Machamp.

Fortunately, due to anime and video game physics, they were unharmed completely...and as they discovered, there was in fact a gym in this town.

"Well, this seems like a good place for us to start collecting badges..." stated Lucy.

"If you say so..." noted Jake.

"Besides, that guy standing in guard isn't really giving us a choice..." informed the female Pokemon trainer.

"Good point." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.

The two of them promptly entered the Pewter City Gym to obtain their badge.

Sure enough, Brock was waiting them in the gym...but as he turns out, he was distracted.

"She was so pretty...I wish I had gotten to know her better..." said Brock.

"Um...excuse me!" exclaimed Lucy.

"What? Oh, hi. Are you here for the Gym Badge? I kind of got distracted..." said the Rock-type Gym Leader.

Lucy and Jake both nodded.

"Right...well then, ladies first!" exclaimed Brock.

Lucy nodded as she stepped into the arena with him.

Sure enough, there was a referee waiting for them. He decided to give Lucy a few words of advice.

"Alright...here's a suggestion for you...don't go around using flying-types in this gym! They won't do well against rock-types, trust me." explained the referee.

"Are you a coach?" inquired Lucy.

"Something like that...the Pokemon League hired me and my seven brothers to give advice to trainers on how to beat the gyms..." explained the gym instructor.

"Oh." answered the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Of course, I'll also be serving as the referee...so don't go whining if I decide that you've lost the battle, will you?" inquired the referee.

Lucy nodded.

Immediately, Brock sent out his Geodude.

"Go, Geodude!" exclaimed the rock specialist.

"Geodude!" exclaimed the rock Pokemon.

Curious, Lucy decided to give it a scan.

"Geodude, the Rock Pokemon. It keeps being mistaken for boulders...try not to trip over them." warned Lucy's Pokedex.

The Geodude nodded his head in agreement. That was such a pain.

"I suppose using my Pidgey in this gym won't be the smartest idea in the world...I guess I'll use my Metapod." said Lucy.

Immediately, she chose her Metapod to represent her in the Gym battle.

"Metapod!" exclaimed Lucy's Metapod.

"You do realize that Bug Pokemon are weak to Rock Pokemon too, right?" inquired the referee.

"Aww!" complained the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Be careful out there!" warned Jake.

Fortunately, as it turns out, Brock's Geodude did not actually know any rock-type moves yet...so it was a fair fight.

"Darn it! I should really do something about that...ah well, Geodude, use Tackle!" exclaimed Brock.

Geodude nodded and started tackling into Lucy's Metapod. Thankfully, due to his high defense, this didn't hurt her too much.

"Metapod, use Harden!" exclaimed Lucy.

Metapod promptly hardened herself to protect herself from Geodude.

"Geodude, use Defense Curl!" ordered Brock in retaliation.

Brock's Geodude curled itself up to increase his defense.

"Er, you wouldn't happen to know the old moves you had as a Caterpie, do you? Try using Tackle." inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Metapod nodded. It did in fact remembered the moves it had learned as a Caterpie, and launched herself at Geodude.

But as it turned out, this wasn't very effective against Geodude.

"Geodude?" said Brock's Geodude. Was that attack supposed to pack a wallop?

"Er, it looks like we might be at a stalemate..." said Lucy.

Fortunately as it turns out, her Metapod was evolving yet again.

"Strange...isn't this the second time today that you're evolving?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"Metapod?" inquired Lucy's Metapod. She just wanted to show her appreciation for her trainer for taking her in when pretty much every other female Pokemon trainer would not.

"I guess she just can't wait to evolve into her final stage, I guess." noted Jake.

As it turns out, Lucy's Metapod was a beautiful Butterfree now...she must have felt like celebrating, because all of a sudden she began to fly all across the gym.

"I'll take that as a yes." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Butterfree!" cheered Lucy's Butterfree.

And as it turns out, she had a new move to go with it...she promptly launched a psychic at Geodude, causing him to feel very dizzy.

"Geodude!" exclaimed his Geodude. Apparently, his special defenses weren't nearly as high as his regular defenses were.

"Geodude, use Defense Curl!" bellowed Brock.

Geodude did as he was told...but as it turned out, his trainer had forgotten something important.

"Darn it! I forgot that Confusion is a special attack...raising my Geodude's defense won't do him any good at all!" thought Brock.

"Use another Confusion!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Butterfree!" cheered Lucy's Butterfree.

Lucy's Butterfree launched another Confusion at Geodude. And this time, he ended up being confused.

"Er, what's happening? Your Geodude looks rather dizzy..." wondered Lucy.

The referee then explained that the Geodude was confused...and may or may not beat himself up.

"OK..." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Geodude, use Tackle!" exclaimed Brock.

Unfortunately for Brock, his Geodude ended up punching himself in the face instead...and with swirls in his eyes.

Brock sighed as he recalled his Geodude.

"So far you're doing rather well...but can you defeat my Onix?" inquired Brock.

He immediately sent out his Onix. Lucy and her Clefairy both gasped in shock.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.

"Wow! This Pokemon's huge!" bellowed Lucy.

She gave the Rock Snake Pokemon a scan.

"Onix, the Rock Snake Pokemon. It can move through the ground at fifty miles per hour." explained the Pokedex.

Lucy's Butterfree began to feel very nervous.

"Butterfree, use Confusion!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

Her Butterfree did so, causing damage to Onix...but he was quick to retaliate.

"Use Rock Tomb!" demanded Brock.

Sure enough, Lucy's Butterfree ended up being crushed by falling rocks...and since she had a quadruple type disadvantage now...this made short work of her.

"Aw, man..." said the female Pokemon trainer as she returned her Buttefree. At least she managed to take out Brock's Geodude before she went.

Knowing that using Pidgey against the rock snake Pokemon would be a bad idea, she decided to send out her Clefairy.

"Here goes." said Lucy as her Clefairy detached herself from her back.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed her Clefairy.

"Funny...I heard that they live at Mt. Moon, I go there collecting fossils..." noted Brock.

"That's nice." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Onix, use Rock Tomb!" exclaimed the male Pokemon trainer.

Sure enough, several rocks fell on top of Lucy's Clefairy...though thankfully she was OK.

"Clefairy..." murmured Lucy's Clefairy, rubbing her head.

"Clefairy, use Pound!" ordered Lucy.

Clefairy nodded...but since Onix was a rock Pokemon and had a high defense...this didn't do her much good.

"Clefairy..." said the unfortunate Fairy Pokemon sadly.

"Onix, use Bind!" ordered Brock.

"Onix!" bellowed the rock Pokemon.

His Onix immediately wrapped himself around Lucy's Clefairy...who all of a sudden found herself being crushed.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy as she was trapped in the Rock Snake's coils.

She began to wonder if she should surrender.

"Looks like I have this one in the bag..." thought Brock.

But as it turns out, her Clefairy had one last trick up her sleeve...

...suddenly, her Clefairy's hands began to glow white.

"Hmm?" wondered Lucy.

Shortly afterwards...for some strange reason, she began to gather sunlight...

"What the-" thought Brock.

And a few seconds later...her Clefairy shot a high-power Solar Beam right in Brock's Onix's face.

"Onix!" bellowed Brock's Onix as he was struck.

Immediately, he fell unconscious to the floor.

Brock gasped in shock at what had happened to his Onix...of course, he wasn't exactly sure what had happened.

"Er, how did my Clefairy do that?" inquired Lucy.

"Er, I think it knows Metronome now...it lets Pokemon use any move in existence...though it's random what move they pick...I heard that Clefairy can learn that from their parents..." noted Jake.

"Clefairy..." spoke Lucy's Clefairy. She was personally glad that her Clefable parents had taught her that technique...it could come in handy in the near future.

"Wow..." thought Lucy.

"Lucy Hisakawa has won the gym battle!" exclaimed the referee.

"How'd you know my last name?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"Aren't you part of a famous family?" asked the couch.

"Oh, right." noted Lucy.

Brock gave Lucy her first badge and some prize money a few seconds later.

"Well, I'm still not sure how your Clefairy pulled that off...but since you won, you deserve this." said the gym leader.

"Thanks! One down, seven to go!" exclaimed Lucy.

"What about me?" inquired Jake.

"You'll be up after I get my Pokemon healed at Nurse Joy...I can't believe how cute she is!" exclaimed Brock.

"Right..." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

_A few minutes later..._

"Well then...I believe the referee explained not to use flying-types, am I right?" inquired Brock.

Jake nodded his head.

"Alright then...go Geodude!" exclaimed Brock.

"Geodude!" exclaimed his Geodude as he emerged from his trainer's Pokeball.

"I'll send out Rattata." said Jake.

Sure enough, his Rattata came out of his Pokeball.

"Rattata!" he exclaimed.

Immediately, Jake ordered his Rattata to use Quick Attack...

...but as it turns out, he had a problem. His attacks weren't doing much damage to Geodude.

"Geodude?" inquired Brock's Geodude. Why was he using Normal attacks? Everyone knew that Rock Pokemon resisted them...

"Geodude, use Tackle!" exclaimed Brock.

His Geodude did as he was told, ramming into Jake's unfortunate Rattata.

"Try using Tackle." ordered his Rattata.

His Rattata did as he was asked...but once more, he didn't do much damage.

"Geodude?" inquired Brock's Geodude. He simply wasn't really feeling the attacks despite how fast his opponent was.

As before, Brock had his Geodude hit Rattata with a Tackle...this time he looked to be tiring out.

"Uh-oh..." thought Jake.

"Try using Tail Whip!" he exclaimed.

Rattata did so to lower Geodude's defense...

...but it was too late, as Geodude used Tackle to take him down.

"Well, this isn't a good start..." noted Jake as he recalled his Rattata.

Of course, his only other Pokemon currently on hand was his Grimer.

"Off you go, buddy!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt as he sent out his sludge Pokemon.

"Grimer!" exclaimed his Grimer as he was freed from his Pokeball.

"Use Poison Gas!" ordered Jake.

Grimer did as he was told...and ended up poisoning Geodude.

"Geodude..." murmured Brock's Geodude. All of a sudden, he was feeling woozy.

"Geodude, use Tackle!" demanded his trainer.

Geodude promptly tackled into Grimer, taking the breath out of him.

"Grimer!" exclaimed his Grimer.

Fortunately, he had a new trick up his sleeve...all of a sudden, he slapped mud into Geodude's eyes.

"Geodude!" exclaimed the Geodude as he tried to get the mud out his eyes. Apparently, this move was super-effective against him.

Jake was glad that his Grimer had learned a new move...but he personally wished it were more powerful. At least it was better than Sand-Attack.

"Keep using it!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt. Might as well make the best of what he had, right?

Jake's Grimer did as he was told, causing Brock's Geodude to become more inaccurate.

"Use Tackle!" demanded Brock.

Brock's Geodude did so...but he missed.

Jake kept on using this strategy to make his opposing Geodude less and less accurate...and all the while, the poison he had inflicted was causing him to feel more and more weak...

Eventually, he fainted on the spot.

"Good job, Geodude...you did your best." said Brock as he recalled his Geodude.

"I'm taking it I'll be facing your Onix now?" inquired Jake nervously.

Brock nodded his head.

"OK..." said the Team Rocket Grunt.

Sure enough, the rock-type Gym Leader released his Onix from his Pokeball.

Jake's Grimer promptly whimpered.

"Grimer..." worried the sludge Pokemon.

"Onix, use Bind!" exclaimed Brock.

Brock's Onix did as he was told...but since Grimer was made of sludge, he could simply slip his way through.

"Oh, right..." recalled Brock.

"Grimer, use Poison Gas!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Grimer did as he was told...but since his opponent was so big, this didn't hurt him too much.

"Onix?" inquired the opposing Onix.

"Onix, use Rock Tomb!" ordered Brock.

Brock's Onix did so...and Jake's Grimer found himself being buried in stones. This must have done quite a bit of damage, because he came out feeling dizzy.

"Use Mud Slap again!" exclaimed Jake in desperation.

Jake's Grimer did so, hurling mud in the eyes of Brock's Onix.

But this wasn't nearly enough to take him down.

"Use Rock Tomb again!" ordered Brock.

Brock's Onix dropped rocks on Jake's Grimer too more. This time, he simply could not stand having so many rocks falling on him at once...

...and he fainted.

"No!" exclaimed Jake as he returned his Grimer to his Pokeball.

"Brock has won the gym battle!" exclaimed the referee.

"Try again next time." encouraged Brock as Jake and Lucy left the gym.

The Team Rocket Grunt promptly sighed to himself. Was being a Pokemon trainer really for him?

And to make matters worse...the guard outside the exit apparently still wasn't going to let him leave Pewter City...he was in fact giving him the evil eye.

"How am I going to get my first Gym badge if I can't defeat a Gym Leader?" he wondered.

_Oh dear! It looks like Jake has lost his first gym Leader battle! Well, at least Lucy managed to win...but how is the Team Rocket Grunt going to defeat Brock?_

_You'll find out in the next chapter...where he'll be having his rematch...oh, and Chris and Ned will be heading to Mt. Moon._


	10. Chapter 10: Mankey Business

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, Jake is going to get a new Pokemon to help him defeat Brock...you can probably guess which one by the chapter title...will it be enough for him to defeat the rock-type Gym Leader this time?_

_Oh, and Chris and Ned are going to catch some new Pokemon too...and battle some Pokemon trainers...we'll also get to see a certain trio of Pokemon trainers again...though they won't be a crazy ambush in this chapter..._

**Chapter 10: Mankey Business**

Lucy decided to scan her new Butterfree...surely her Pokedex had something interesting to say about it.

"Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokemon. It flaps its wings at high speed in battle to release toxic dust."

"Funny, I don't recall it being a Poison type..." noted Lucy.

"Butterfree?" inquired Lucy's Butterfree. She didn't remember that either.

"Hmm...it also says here that you're fully evolved now...that's good to know...though I wonder if I should try to do the same for my other Pokemon..." spoke the girl.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.

"What, you're not interested in becoming a Clefable?" inquired Lucy.

"Clefairy!" answered the Fairy Pokemon. According to her, she wasn't really interested in using evolutionary stones to make herself more powerful...and besides, becoming a Clefable would make it harder for her to fit into her spaceship.

"Right..." noted the female Pokemon trainer.

As it turns out, they were standing outside the Pokemon League entrance...Jake was feeling rather depressed and they had thus decided to take a walk there. Not only had he failed to get the gym badge, he had to pay the gym leader some of his hard-earned cash since he lost.

"You know...my father told me that the prize for winning the Indigo Plateau Conference was just a simple trophy..." said Jake.

"What? Don't say that! If you manage to win the tournament, everyone will look up to you!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Being famous isn't everything, you know." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"True...but don't you think winning the Indigo Plateau Conference would be exciting?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"That's probably just wishful thinking..." spoke Jake.

"Hmm..." wondered Lucy.

Unbeknownst to the two Pokemon trainers, they had attracted the attention of a wild Mankey.

"Mankey!" exclaimed the wild Mankey.

"Er, what was that?" inquired Lucy.

"Is there a Pokemon here?" questioned Jake.

"I heard that there were a few of them on the way here..." noted the female Pokemon trainer.

Suddenly, the wild Mankey jumped right in front of them.

"Oh, I guess that's one of them now." noted Jake. Curious, he gave the Mankey a scan.

"Mankey, the Pig Monkey Pokemon. It is extremely short-tempered and very agile." explained the Pokedex.

According to the Pokedex, this wild Mankey was male.

"I wonder what he wants from us?" wondered Lucy.

The wild Mankey noticed the hat that Jake was wearing...and all of a sudden, he wanted to try it out.

Out of nowhere, he snatched it off of the Team Rocket Grunt's head.

"What the heck?! Give that back!" exclaimed Jake.

Unfortunately, the wild Mankey was not a very good listener...he simply ignored Jake and started running away.

"That little thief...I should teach him a lesson..." said the Team Rocket Grunt.

Immediately, he started to roll up his sleeves...but Lucy stopped him.

"Jake, wait!" exclaimed Lucy.

"What is it? I need to get my hat back..." said Jake.

"Didn't you hear what your Pokedex said? It says that Mankeys are short-tempered!" warned Lucy.

"Oh right...so I shouldn't make him angry?" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt.

"I don't think you'll like him when he's angry." pointed out Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded in agreement.

"Oh...so I should try to keep him calm then?" asked Jake.

"Sounds good to me." answered Lucy.

"I guess I'll have to ask nicely then..." said the Team Rocket Grunt.

"You know it's funny...I never really noticed that you had green hair before...your hat usually covers your hair pretty well." noted Lucy.

"Yes I know...I got it from my dad." answered Jake.

"Oh, that's nice." noted Lucy.

Jake reached forward into his bag to get something to exchange his hat with. Sure enough, there was a banana.

"Perfect!" he thought.

Fortunately for Jake, the wild Mankey had not wandered off very far. He was still admiring his new ill-gotten hat.

"Er, hi there buddy!" greeted Jake nervously.

"Mankey?" inquired the wild Mankey.

"In case you haven't noticed...that hat kind of belongs to me...but if you hand it over, I'll give you a banana." said the Team Rocket Grunt.

Sure enough, he was holding the banana in his hands.

The wild Mankey scratched his head. What he promised seemed to be a fair offer...but he really enjoyed his new hat.

Of course, he also really enjoyed eating bananas...but bananas didn't last forever. His hat on the other hand would last quite a while.

Suddenly, he noticed that he appeared to be a Pokemon trainer...the wild Mankey had noticed many of them entering the Indigo Plateau Conference in order to try out for the tournament.

He in fact wondered if he should try participating...

...suddenly, he got an idea.

Immediately, he returned the hat to Jake.

"Thanks for being generous...though you really shouldn't steal other people's belongings." said the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Mankey." answered the wild Mankey as he accepted his banana. He figured that he should probably avoid doing so in the future...though he had to admit, he did love wearing hats.

Of course, he also looked forward to becoming a trained Pokemon...so he could finally enter the Indigo Plateau Conference.

After he finished his banana, he promptly started shaking his fist at Jake.

"Er, did I offend you?" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt. "I'm sorry if I did..."

The wild Mankey shook his head.

"Oh...do you want a Pokemon battle with me or something?" inquired Jake.

"Mankey!" exclaimed the pig monkey Pokemon.

"I'll take that as a yes...but is this one on one or can I use both of my Pokemon? Just wondering..." said the Team Rocket Grunt.

The wild Mankey raised two of his fingers.

"Oh, I can use both then...sounds good." said Jake.

Immediately, he released his Rattata from his Pokeball.

"Here I go!" exclaimed Jake.

"Rattata!" cheered the Mouse Pokemon.

Suddenly, Lucy walked up to him.

"I take it you got your hat back?" inquired Lucy.

"Yes I did...but now the Mankey wants a duel with me...apparently he wants me to be his Pokemon trainer or something..." said Jake.

"That's sweet." noted the female Pokemon trainer. "You might want to pick a better Pokemon for the battle though..."

"Hmm?" wondered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"According to my Pokedex...Rattata's a Normal type Pokemon...and Normal type Pokemon are weak against Fighting Pokemon...just like Mankey here..." warned Lucy.

Sure enough, Jake noticed that his Rattata was having a hard time against Mankey, who was busy trying to Low Kick him.

"Oh dear...I might want to pick a different Pokemon then..." said Jake.

Immediately, he recalled his Rattata.

"Mankey?" inquired the Pig Monkey.

"Let's hope that this is a better choice..." spoke the Team Rocket Grunt as he sent out his Grimer.

"Grimer!" exclaimed Grimer.

"That's more like it...according to the Pokedex...Grimer here is resistant to Fighting-type attacks..." explained Lucy.

"Really?" inquired Jake.

Sure enough, the wild Mankey tried Low Kicking once more...but Jake's Grimer hardly felt it.

"Grimer?" inquired Jake's Grimer.

"Try using Poison Gas! This should help me catch him..." noted Jake.

Jake's Grimer nodded and bombarded the unfortunate Mankey with his nasty gas... all of a sudden, the monkey Pokemon began to feel sick.

"Mankey..." murmured the wild Mankey.

As before, the Mankey tried attacking his Grimer, but unfortunately due to the fact that he was made of sludge his attacks simply weren't having much of an effect on him.

"Grimer!" cheered Jake's Grimer. It looked like he was going to win today.

And indeed he was, because his owner decided to toss a Pokeball. The wild Mankey was poisoned after all...and he was going to faint eventually sooner or later.

"Pokeball, go!" exclaimed Jake as he tossed his Pokeball.

Though the Mankey struggled fairly aggressively, it wasn't enough to break free of the Pokeball, and eventually...

...he was caught.

"Alright!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt.

After taking his three Pokemon to the Pokemon Center...Jake decided to check out his new Pokemon.

"Hi there little buddy! Welcome to the team!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Mankey!" cheered Jake's newfound Mankey. Oddly enough, though his species was known to be short-tempered, he appeared to be fairly friendly now, as he promptly shook Jake's hand.

Because he was feeling rather nice (even though the Mankey had stolen his hat earlier), he decided to give him another banana.

Jake's Mankey promptly cheered.

"He sure loves bananas, doesn't he?" noted Lucy.

"I heard that Mankeys also love chestnuts...though they never seem to be able to peel them." spoke Jake.

Suddenly, Lucy noticed something interesting on her Pokedex.

"Funny, it says here that Fighting-type Pokemon are super-effective against Rock-types...you think he can help you with your rematch against Brock?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"Maybe...he'll have to be fairly strong if he wants to stand a chance, though." noted Jake.

Suddenly, Jake's Mankey lifted Lucy into the air.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Lucy.

Jake was rather annoyed.

"Be nice to my friends, Mankey. She didn't do anything to you." explained Jake.

"Mankey?" inquired Jake's Mankey. He just wanted to show off his strength.

The monkey Pokemon set Lucy down on the floor.

"Well, I guess you are fairly strong then...let's go challenge the Gym Leader, shall we?" asked the Team Rocket Grunt, who was now feeling more confident on himself.

"Mankey!" cheered Jake's Mankey. He was looking forward to a challenge...and fighting a Gym Leader would fit the bill.

And so the two of them headed back to Pewter City.

_A few minutes later..._

"So, are you ready for your rematch? I have to admit, you did fairly well considering that both of your Pokemon had type disadvantages..." said Brock.

"Yeah...I kind of rectified that since our last encounter..." explained Jake.

"Good for you. So, are you ready?" inquired Brock.

"Yes, I am." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Thought so. Go, Geodude!" exclaimed the Rock-type Gym Leader.

"Geodude!" yelled Brock's Geodude. Apparently he was looking forward for his rematch.

"Go, Grimer!" exclaimed Jake.

Sure enough, his Grimer came out of his Pokeball.

"You're not sending out your Rattata first this time?" inquired Brock.

"I caught another Pokemon while you were gone...so I won't be using him this time." explained Jake.

"Oh..." acknowledged the gym leader.

"Grimer, use Poison Gas!" ordered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Grimer!" bellowed the slimy Pokemon.

Immediately, Geodude found himself poisoned once more.

"Geodude..." murmured Brock's Geodude. Not again...

"Use Defense Curl!" ordered Brock.

Geodude curled himself into a ball, but he took damage from the poison.

"Now use Mudslap!" exclaimed Jake.

As before, Grimer hurled mud in Geodude's face.

"Geodude!" exclaimed Brock's Geodude, who found himself with mud in his eyes once more.

"You can do this!" cheered Lucy.

Jake smiled. He was glad that she was cheering him on this time...maybe this would help him win?

"Geodude, use Tackle!" ordered Brock.

Unfortunately, Geodude missed.

"Grime!" cheered Jake's Grimer.

"Try using it again." ordered Jake.

Jake's Grimer did so and hurled sand into Geodude's eyes.

"Geodude, use Defense Curl!" ordered Brock.

His Geodude once more curled up into a ball to increase his defense...but the poison was wearing him down.

"Grimer, use Mud-Slap!" demanded Jake.

Grimer did as he was asked...causing Geodude to once again lose accuracy.

"Geodude, use Tackle!" ordered Brock.

Geodude did so...but once again he missed...and at that very moment, he collapsed on the floor.

"Well, time to send out Onix again." said the Rock-type Gym Leader as he recalled his Geodude.

Sure enough, he sent Onix.

"Onix!" bellowed the rock snake Pokemon

"Use Poison Gas, Grimer!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Grimer once again poisoned his opposing Pokemon...this time, he seemed a bit more successful than before...though Onix still wasn't too poisoned.

"I guess he got a little stronger from that battle with Mankey..." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Onix, use Bind!" ordered Brock.

Onix did so...but as before, Jake's Grimer simply slithered his way out of it.

"Not again..." thought the Rock-type Gym Leader.

"Use Mud-Slap!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Grimer nodded, and hit Onix in the eyes with some mud, lowering his accuracy.

"Use Rock Tomb!" demanded Brock.

Brock's Onix did so, burying Grimer in rocks. Thankfully, though he was significantly injured, he was still able to fight.

"Use Mud-Slap again!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Grimer did so, kicking more mud into Brock's Onix's eyes.

Once again, Brock ordered Onix to use Rock Tomb...but this time he missed.

"I'm sure you know what I want you to do by now." noted Jake.

Once again, Jake's Grimer used Mud-Slap.

"Bury it in Rock Tomb! And try not to miss this time..." ordered Brock.

Brock's Onix did so...and this time, his mark was true, and Jake's Grimer went down.

"Well, now to try out my new Pokemon." said Jake as he sent out his new Mankey.

"Mankey!" cheered Jake's Mankey.

Brock realized that he might be in trouble. As he was well-aware, Rock-types weren't the best types to defeat Fighting-types in the world.

"Try using Bind!" ordered Brock.

Brock's Onix did so...but since Jake's Mankey was rather strong, it didn't take too much effort for him to break free.

"Uh-oh..." the Gym Leader thought.

In fact, this only seemed to make him mad.

"Mankey!" bellowed the angry pig monkey Pokemon.

"Try using Low Kick!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Mankey did as his trainer told him to do...which had rather satisfying results.

"Onix!" bellowed Brock's Onix as he fell on the floor. Though he managed to get up again, he had the breath knocked out of him from the attack...and of course, the poison that Grimer had left him with was starting to take effect.

"Not good..." thought Brock.

Getting desperate, Brock told his Onix to try to harden himself.

"Onix!" exclaimed Brock's Onix as he did so.

Unfortunately, this wasn't enough for him.

"Use Low Kick again!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Mankey did so, and this time, Brock's Onix did not get up...he had swirls in his eyes.

Jake promptly cheered. He had won this time!

Brock promptly returned Onix to his Pokeball.

"Jake Kurosawa has won the battle!" bellowed the referee.

"Good to see you didn't give up after the first time." noted Brock as he handed Jake his Boulder Badge and some prize money.

"I was tempted to...but I didn't." answered Jake, looking at Lucy as he did so.

"Alright! Let's go get some more badges!" squealed Lucy.

Jake and Lucy promptly exited the gym, Jake restoring his Pokemon back to full health at the Pokemon center immediately after they did so.

"I've got two Pokemon for you to heal...well, maybe just one." answered Jake, noting how his Mankey wasn't really injured fighting Brock.

Nurse Joy nodded as she healed the two Pokemon.

After they had left the Pokemon center, they both noticed that the guy guarding the way out of the city had mysteriously vanished.

"I wonder he went off to?" questioned Lucy.

"Your guess is as good as mine." answered Jake.

_"If you don't come back with a badge, my Machamp's going to pulverize you!" bellowed the guarding trainer._

_"Machamp!" bellowed the guarding trainer's Machamp_

_"But I just want to see what's on the other side..." complained the victim Pokemon trainer._

_"Too bad! You're not getting through without the Boulder Badge!" bellowed the guarding trainer._

_"What is going on here?!" screeched Officer Jenny._

_"Um, hi?" asked the guarding trainer nervously._

_"Sheesh...I came to Pewter City hearing that Team Rocket were at Mt. Moon, and already I've caught a criminal on the way there..." said Officer Jenny as he stuck handcuffs on the offending trainer's wrists._

_"Thank you so much!" cheered the trainer._

_"You're welcome...why did he want you to have a Boulder Badge anyway?" inquired Officer Jenny._

_"Maybe because he never got one of those himself?" asked the trainer._

_The guarding trainer promptly whimpered._

"Say...I heard that there's a museum here...can we go before we leave? I just want to check it out..." asked the female Pokemon trainer.

"Sure..." answered Jake. Why not?

Interesting enough, right outside the museum was a man selling hats...apparently, these were to show that you were a fan of Pokemon fossils and whatnot.

Suddenly, remembering how much his Mankey liked hats, Jake got an idea.

"Can I have one?" inquired Jake, handing some Pokedollars to the hat seller.

"Sure!" exclaimed the hat seller.

He then sent out his Mankey.

"Mankey?" inquired Jake's Mankey.

"I want you to have this...since you helped me get the Boulder Badge." said Jake as he handed Mankey the museum hat.

"Mankey!" cheered the Pig Monkey as he tried it on.

Jake promptly returned Mankey to his Pokeball as Jake and Lucy entered the museum.

_Meanwhile at Route 3..._

"Sheesh...this battle is taking forever." noted Chris.

As it turned out, she was in a battle with a Bug Catcher with her Kakuna, who as it incidentally turned out was using one as well.

Neither of them had been able to make much headway, since their Poison Sting attacks didn't do much damage to each other.

"Would one of you hurry up and evolve already?" asked Chris.

Suddenly, her Kakuna began to evolve.

"Kakuna!" cheered Chris's Kakuna.

"Finally..." answered Chris.

Sure enough, standing in place of her former Kakuna was now a Beedrill.

"Beedrill!" exclaimed Chris's Beedrill.

"Beedrill, the Poison Bee Pokémon! It can attack using the venomous stingers on its forelegs and tail!" explained the Pokedex.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Chris.

Sure enough, her Beedrill began to strike the Kakuna with her new Fury Attack.

Unfortunately for the Bug Catcher, his Kakuna decided not to do the same.

"C'mon! Evolve!" ordered the bug catcher.

"Kakuna?" inquired the bug catcher's Kakuna. Why should he hurry himself? He had all the time in the world, basically.

Then it ended up being struck five times in a row with Fury Attack, and realized why his trainer wanted him to evolve.

"Kakuna..." murmured the opposing Kakuna as he fainted.

"Dang nabbit!" screamed the bug catcher.

"Come back to me when you've evolved your Kakuna." answered Chris as the bug catcher handed her some Pokedollars.

Meanwhile, Ned was trying to catch a Nidoran...a girl Nidoran.

"Eevee, use Tackle!" ordered the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Eevee did so, pummeling into the opposing Nidoran.

"Nidoran..." murmured the female Nidoran, who was feeling weak.

"Pokeball time!" exclaimed Ned as he tossed the Pokeball at the female Pokemon.

Sure enough, after a brief struggle, the girl Nidoran was caught.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Ned.

Unfortunately for Ned, his Pokemon had been poisoned during the battle thanks to the girl Nidoran's poisonous barbs.

"Eevee..." murmured Ned's poisoned Eevee. He was feeling rather weak.

"Nidoran!" bellowed a boy Nidoran.

Unfortunately for the nerd Pokemon trainer, as it turns out, she had a friend. He looked rather angry that Ned had used his Eevee to take her down.

"Um, hi?" asked Ned nervously.

Immediately, the male Nidoran wanted to jab him with his horn. Ned promptly screamed like a little girl once again.

"Chris, help me!" bellowed the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Chris arrived on the scene a few seconds after he had called her. She promptly sighed realizing what Ned had gotten himself into.

"Can't you just use your Eevee?" inquired the tomboy.

"He's been poisoned!" bellowed Ned.

Chris sighed.

"Guess I'm going to have to be your princess Charming then...you little wimp." spoke the female Pokemon trainer as she sent out her Spearow.

As it turns out, like her Beedrill, her Spearow had a few new tricks up his sleeve.

Immediately, he pummeled the opposing male Nidoran with his new Fury Attack.

"He sure has gotten angry..." noted Chris.

The male Nidoran could not take this prolonged assault, and pretty soon he was weak.

Chris seized the opportunity to throw a Pokeball...and then he was caught.

"So, did you catch a new Pokemon?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"I caught a girl Nidoran..." answered the male Pokemon trainer. "I think that's why he got mad at me..."

"Oh...how ironic..." noted Chris.

They decided to give each other's Nidoran a scan. Oddly enough, their Pokedex entries were more or less than same.

"Nidoran, the Poison Pin Pokemon. The larger their horns, the stronger their venom is." explained Ned's Pokedex.

"Nidoran, the Poison Pin Pokemon! It may be small, but its poison barbs are still dangerous!" noted Chris's Pokedex.

"Well, off to Mt. Moon we go." explained Chris.

"Shouldn't we stop at the Pokemon Center first? There's one right over there." noted Ned.

Chris promptly sighed.

"Fine..." answered the tomboy.

_Meanwhile at Rocket Hideout..._

"So, did you manage to find my grunt? And grab the girl?" inquired Giovanni.

"I'm afraid not...Officer Jenny got in the way, so we had to bolt." explained James.

"Officer Jenny...of course it would be Officer Jenny." answered the head of Team Rocket.

"And to make matters worse, we got sent blasting off after we tried going after another duo of Pokemon trainers..." explained Jessie.

"Meowth...that's right..." continued Meowth, recalling how one of the trainer's Spearows had pecked a hole in their hot air balloon.

"Did they have valuable Pokemon? And what did they look like?" inquired Giovanni.

"Well, they had a Jigglypuff and a Eevee..." noted James.

"One was dressed in black while the other was wearing a labcoat..." explained Jessie.

"I see...I suppose those Pokemon of theirs would make us a fair sum of cash...but I'll be sending more experienced Team Rocket Grunts for that particular task...seeing though you lost so horribly to them." explained the big cheese.

"Not them!" exclaimed James.

"Why do you always have to do this to us?!" screamed Jessie.

"Yeah!" bellowed Meowth.

"Because they are actually competent at their jobs...which unfortunately I cannot say the same for you. But as for the rich girl and the grunt...since I actually enjoy watching you fail nowadays, I'll be giving you one more chance." explained Giovanni.

"You will? Great!" exclaimed Jessie.

"But what if Officer Jenny catches us?" inquired James.

"Just wear those crazy disguises of yours...they should be able to fool her...though to be honest I've always been able to recognize you even when you're wearing them." ordered Giovanni.

"Alright then! Let's get out of here and get our disguises then!" bellowed Meowth.

The trio of Pokemon trainers promptly bolted.

Giovanni called for the duo he wanted to send after Chris and Ned a few minutes later.

"Cassidy! Mitch! Get in here!" exclaimed Giovanni.

"My name is Butch!" bellowed the male Team Rocket Grunt as he and Cassidy ran into the room.

"Sorry about that...I've got a job for you...I want you to get a Jigglypuff and an Eevee for me...one of them belongs to a trainer who I believe is a brunette and dresses in black...while the other is a blonde who dresses in a labcoat..." explained Giovanni.

"Sir, yes, sir!" exclaimed Cassidy.

"Get my name right next time!" demanded Butch.

"Sure thing, Billy." answered Giovanni tauntingly.

"Aarghhh!" bellowed Butch.

The two Team Rocket Grunts promptly left the room.

"Hopefully they'll succeed at least..." thought the head honcho of Team Rocket to himself.

_Jake has captured a Mankey and has defeated Brock...so everyone has a gym badge now...but guess what, Team Rocket's going to try to capture Lucy and her Clefairy again..._

_...oh, and Team Rocket's going after Chris and Ned as well...but they're going to have to deal with more experienced Team Rocket Grunts...not good news for them._

_What's going to happen next? Well, in the next chapter, Lucy and Jake will be heading to the museum and Chris and Ned will be heading to Mt. Moon...but you should probably know that much._

_Adios!_


	11. Chapter 11: The Magikarp Salesman

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, Lucy and Jake are going to check out the local museum...but they're going to have to prepare for trouble once more..._

_Oh, and Chris and Ned are going to be paying Mt. Moon a visit...unfortunately, Team Rocket will be causing trouble there...since you know, they like being evil and whatnot..._

_Oh...and Ned's going to get ripped off! What a disaster..._

_Sit back and watch the show!_

**Chapter 11: The Magikarp Salesman**

Lucy and Jake were both touring the local exhibit, eager to see the fossil Pokemon that were on display. As it turns out, there were quite a few of them on show...including those that were displaying Kabutos and Omanytes evolving into Kabutopses and Omastars respectively.

"Funny, I heard that there's a lab at Cinnabar Island that people can use to bring fossilized Pokemon back to life..." pointed out Jake.

"Really?" inquired Lucy.

"Yeah...of course, in order to do that, we'll need a fossil of some kind...I heard that we can get them at Mt. Moon somewhere, though I'm not quite sure where." explained Jake.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy. Apparently she was looking forward to heading there, though Lucy wasn't quite sure why.

"Ah...would Mt. Moon happen to be nearby? I can't help but shake the feeling that my Clefairy's itching to head there..." inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"I believe that we have to go there to get to Cerulean City, so yes." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Clefairy!" squealed Lucy's Clefairy. She was so happy that she would be able to head there as part of her trainer's Pokemon journey, though admittedly she wouldn't be able to stay there forever.

"That's good to know." answered Lucy.

"Of course, just between you and me...I don't think we'll be able to take any from the museum..." pointed out the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Right...but why would we do that? It's not like we're members of Team Rocket, you know." answered Lucy.

Jake promptly sweatdropped. Would he be able to keep his secret from Lucy forever? Or was she going to figure it out eventually? Either way, he was worried.

"Say, would you look at that? There's a collection of elemental stones here...I wonder what we could evolve with them?" said Lucy.

Sure enough, there were several different stones on display, including Fire Stones, Water Stones, and Thunder Stones.

Lucy's Clefairy shook her head once more.

"Oh right...you still don't want to evolve yet..." answered the female Pokemon trainer. "At least not until you get a bigger spaceship, right?"

Lucy's Clefairy nodded. It was always important to conserve space when you were trying to drive a vehicle, especially considering that she didn't want to crash her spaceship again.

"My Grimer's never been a Pokemon that wanted to evolve either to be honest...he said that he wanted to limit the amount of damage he caused to the environment..." pointed out Jake.

"Oh...that's nice of him...though it would be rather interesting if he eventually evolved into a Muk." noted the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Yeah...it's always important to conserve the environment." noted Jake.

They also noticed that there was a skeleton of an Aerodactyl on display in the museum.

"It sure looks vicious, doesn't it?" noted Lucy.

"Yeah...good thing it went extinct before we were both born, am I right? Otherwise we'd probably be in trouble..." inquired Jake.

"I suppose...still, I wonder what it would be like if I could use it as a Pokemon? Surely that would surprise the other Pokemon trainers..." asked the female Pokemon trainer.

"Eh, it probably wouldn't listen to you. It's not like every Pokemon likes being bossed around, you know." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Well, not without the proper badges. Good thing we're on a Pokemon journey, right?" answered Lucy.

"Right." answered Jake.

Suddenly, they noticed that there was a man and a woman showing several different Pokemon trainers around. They were both wearing glasses.

For some reason, Lucy's Clefairy thought that they looked familiar. Had they met somewhere before? Then again, this was the first time they had paid a visit to the local museum...so just how could they?

"Hello there, and welcome to the museum! Before you ask, we are most definitely not here to steal your Pokemon!" exclaimed the woman.

"Mm-hmm! We would never dream about that! Why would we ever steal from you?" inquired the man.

Although she couldn't tell for sure, Lucy's Clefairy got the strange feeling that they had their fingers crossed behind their backs.

"Can we check out the exhibits? I heard that they're really cool..." inquired one of the tourists.

"We paid money so that we could go on these tours, you know!" answered another one of the tourists.

"Yes, of course! We wouldn't want to hold you up, now would we?" exclaimed the man.

"Go right ahead! Check out the exhibits! We won't stop you!" answered the woman.

The tourists shrugged and decided to do as they said. They certainly were rather strange for tour guides.

Suddenly, the man and woman noticed Jake and Lucy.

"Hey there...how would you like to go on a special tour?" inquired the man.

"It'll be just the two of you." answered the woman.

"Why just the two of us?" inquired Lucy.

"Er, where is this tour?" asked Jake.

"It's right outside the museum..." pointed out the man.

"Er, why would you have a tour outside the museum? Wouldn't it be easier to have one inside?" questioned Lucy.

"Who cares? Walk right with us, will you? There's lots of things that we want you to see." inquired the man.

The two decided to unaccompany the mysterious museum staff members outside the museum...immediately, they noticed that there was a Meowth hot air balloon nearby. All of a sudden, the duo got suspicious.

"Now if you would let us have your Clefairy for just one m-"

Jake cut the woman off. "Wait a minute! I know who you two are! You're Jessie and James, aren't you?!"

The man and woman sweatdropped.

"Er, we don't know anyone by the name of Jessie! Why are you asking us this?" exclaimed the woman.

"Er, yeah...we don't know anyone by the name of James either! Would they happen to be friends of yours?" bellowed the man.

"As a matter of fact, they're not." answered Lucy.

Curious, Lucy's Clefairy decided to remove the glasses that the two were wearing...and sure enough, it was Jessie and James.

They promptly sighed, realizing that they had been discovered, and tore off their tour guide uniforms, revealing their Team Rocket outfits.

"Alright, you got us!" exclaimed Jessie.

"But we're still stealing your Clefairy! She's going to make us lots of cash!" bellowed James.

Meowth promptly revealed himself. Turns out that he had been hiding in the hot air balloon.

"Meowth, that's right!" exclaimed Meowth.

"Are you going to sing your obnoxious motto again? I'm really tired of it already, you know." inquired Jake.

"We're going to do it a bit differently this time...and why are you so tired of it?" explained James.

"It'd be a lot more endurable if you didn't sing it all the time..." answered Jake. "And it won't stop getting stuck in my head, either...you wouldn't believe how many times I had to wash out my ears..."

"Yeah...I'm starting to get tired of it too...and so far I've only heard it once." answered Lucy.

"Aw, c'mon! Can't you cut us some slack?" demanded Meowth.

Jake sighed.

"Fine..."

"We were really hoping that this would be a surprise!" exclaimed Jessie.

"Everyone knows that we're masters of disguise!" bellowed James.

"To have our disguises revealed so easily is such a devastation!" complained the female Team Rocket Grunt.

"We were hoping that we'd be able to fool an entire nation!" nodded the male Team Rocket Grunt.

"Sorry to hear that, wait, you wanted to fool an entire nation?!" questioned Lucy.

"Well, maybe not an entire nation." answered James.

"We'll be heading back to the regular lyrics now..." said Meowth.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" exclaimed Jessie.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" bellowed James.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" screamed the female Team Rocket grunt.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" bellowed the male Team Rocket Grunt.

"Meowth, that's right!" exclaimed Meowth.

"Oh dear...looks like you're after my Clefairy again...can't say I approve of that. Can't you just leave her alone?" noted Lucy.

Meowth shook his head. How could they possibly pass up such an opportunity to get some quick cash?

"Guess what? This time there's no Officer Jenny to save you! She's off at Mt. Moon at the moment." bellowed James.

"Oh dear...why would she be heading off there?" inquired the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"We're kind of planning a heist there at the moment." answered Jessie.

Ironically enough, Jake remembered his boss telling them about it. Apparently, there were valuable Pokemon and fossils there.

"Clefairy?" questioned the Fairy Pokemon.

"You're still not getting that Clefairy, you know. We're not letting you!" answered Jake.

"We'll see about that...go Ekans!" exclaimed Jessie.

Jessie sent out her Ekans.

"Ekans!" bellowed the Snake Pokemon.

"Go, Koffing!" bellowed James.

James sent out his Koffing.

"Koffing!" yelled the Poison Gas Pokemon.

"Er, which one should we take on?" inquired Lucy.

"Eh, I suppose I'll take on Jessie while you take on James..." explained Jake.

"OK then...go Pidgey!" exclaimed Lucy as she hurled her Pokemon's Pokeball.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed the bird Pokemon as she was released from her Pokeball.

"I guess I'll send out my Mankey...he did so well against Brock..." noted Jake.

"Funny, doesn't he usually travel with that twerp?" inquired Jessie.

"I know..." nodded James.

He promptly released his Mankey.

"Mankey!" cheered the monkey Pokemon.

"Why is he wearing a hat?" inquired Meowth.

"Because he likes wearing them?" asked Jake.

Meowth simply shrugged.

"Ekans, use Wrap!" ordered Jessie.

Ekans promptly wrapped herself around the opposing Mankey.

"Funny, I seem to recall Brock's Onix trying that on my Mankey...didn't work out too well." thought Jake.

Sure enough, Jake's Mankey broke free...and he was angry.

"Try using Scratch!" ordered Jake.

The trained Mankey started scratching Ekans in her face.

"Ekans, use Bite!" ordered Jessie.

Ekans promptly started biting into Mankey.

"Mankey, use Leer!" ordered Jake.

Mankey promptly glared at the opposing snake Pokemon, causing her defense to fall.

"Use Poison Sting!" demanded Jessie.

Jessie's Ekans did so...but Mankey wasn't poisoned.

"Use Scratch!" demanded Jake.

Jake's Mankey did so once again, causing Jessie's Ekans to faint. Jessie was outraged by her defeat.

"Aargh! Gosh darn it! How could I lose?!" she exclaimed.

"Maybe next time you should bring more than one Pokemon...it'll make life a lot easier for you." noted the Team Rocket Grunt as he received his prize money.

"Funny, for some strange reason...he looks familiar." thought Jessie.

Meanwhile, Lucy was dealing with James and his Koffing.

"Use Smokescreen!" ordered James.

James' Koffing happily did so...but Lucy's Pidgey blew the smoke away. He promptly frowned, realizing that his attack had been made useless.

"So, you can use Gust now?" inquired Lucy.

Her Pidgey nodded.

"That's nice." noted Lucy.

"I'm still going to win! Use Smog!" ordered James.

As before, James' Koffing did so...but once again, Lucy's Pidgey blew the gas away.

"How am I going to win this?!" he exclaimed.

"I don't know either. Try using Tackle!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey promptly tackled into Koffing, knocking the breath out of him for producing smoke with.

"Try using Tackle!" ordered James.

James' Koffing promptly tackled into Pidgey...but this wasn't enough.

"Use Gust!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey nodded, and used Gust to take down James' Koffing, who now had swirls in his eyes. James was very unhappy about his defeat.

"I got beaten by a little girl! Why?! I feel so humilated! How could this happen to me?" bellowed James.

"Take it easy...is being beaten by a girl really such a big deal? Your coworker's a girl too, you know." answered Lucy as she received her Pokedollars.

James promptly sighed, realizing what she had told him was true. Though admittedly sometimes he was unsure if she was actually a girl.

_A few minutes later..._

"Well, it looks like we lost...for the second time today...and for about the seventh time this week." noted Jessie.

"Sheesh...why do the Pokemon trainers we encounter always have to be so strong? Why can't we fight a weak Pokemon trainer for a change?" inquired James.

"Like...you?" inquired Jake.

The Team Rocket trio all sweatdropped.

"We're never able to steal a Pokemon...heck, I bet that we couldn't even steal a Magikarp..." spoke Meowth.

"Sorry to hear that." sympathized Jake. Were they really that incompetent? Surely, they'd be able to steal at least one Pokemon...

"Well, let's see if we can make history...today's the day we're finally going to steal a Pokemon!" shouted James.

Once more, he snuck behind Lucy and grabbed onto her Clefairy.

"Not again! Why can't you keep your hands to yourselves?!" bellowed Lucy. Why did Team Rocket want her Clefairy so bad, anyway? Was she really that valuable?

"Clefairy!" screamed Lucy's Clefairy as she was snatched away.

"Off to Team Rocket HQ we go!" bellowed Jessie.

The Team Rocket trio promptly stepped into the hot air balloon along with their stolen Pokemon.

Unfortunately, Clefairy broke free from James' grip and jumped off the balloon to safety.

"Get back here! We need you so that Giovanni will treat us with respect!" ordered Meowth.

Of course, Lucy's Clefairy did not listen, and she grabbed onto Lucy's backside once more.

"Good to see you're safe." answered Lucy.

"Clefairy!" cheered Lucy's Clefairy...

Team Rocket tried to chase after Clefairy for a second... but as it turns out, their hot air balloon had risen to the sky too quickly.

"No!" bellowed James, realizing that they were returning to their headquarters empty-handed.

And to make matters worse, Lucy's Pidgey had decided to peck their hot air balloon, so they were blasting off once again.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off for the second time today and for the fifth time this week!" bellowed the Team Rocket trio as they were all sent flying away.

DING!

"Well, it looks like we defeated Team Rocket again...I wonder why they keep getting blasted away, anyway? Surely gravity would do something about all that..." noted Lucy.

"Technically it was Officer Jenny that defeated them the first time...though personally I wonder what that too...it never seems to happen to anyone else." explained Jake.

"Yeah...technically I was the one that called the police though..." explained the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Let's live by the technicality then." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

The duo left the museum a few minutes later. As they did so, the two of them noticed that Lucy's Clefairy had done something wrong.

"Did you just steal from the museum?! What were you thinking?!" bellowed Lucy, noticing the Pokemon skull the Fairy Pokemon had in her hands.

"Clef..." apologized Lucy's Clefairy. She simply had been unable to help herself.

"I'm starting to wonder if Lucy's Clefairy is really that much better than Jessie and James...then again, neither am I apparently." thought Jake to himself.

"You give that back! That skull is not for you!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy ran into the museum and returned the stolen skull. She came back a few minutes later.

"No more kleptomania!" demanded the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

The Fairy Pokemon dropped her head sadly.

"Funny, I never really recall Lucy getting angry...she always seems to be so sweet-natured...though then again I suppose there's a first time for everything..." thought Jake.

_Meanwhile at the Mt. Moon Pokemon Center..._

"I have to admit, it was nice of the Pokemon League to set up a Pokemon Center outside of Mt. Moon...personally, it feels like a checkpoint of some kind..." noted Ned.

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. I'll be right back...I need to use the restroom. " explained Chris.

Ned nodded as Chris temporarily left him.

"Hey there buddy! How would you like to have a Pokemon of a lifetime! You'll be able to win the Indigo League Conference for sure!" bellowed a mysterious man standing in the Pokemon Center.

Curious, Ned decided to take a closer look, even though the salesman in question was rather shady and he had a bad feeling about him.

"I happen to be selling Magikarp, the best Pokemon of all! They are completely and utterly invincible! You'll never lose another Pokemon battle again! I guarantee it!" lied the con artist.

"You're selling Magikarp? That's interesting...where did you get all of them?" inquired Ned.

"With my trusty fishing rod! I needed a Super-Duper Rod to catch them all! It took forever!" lied the con artist.

"Oh...so...you're giving them out to other Pokemon trainers, am I right?" asked the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Mm-hmm! One of them shall be yours for the measly price of just five hundred Pokedollars!" explained the Magikarp salesman.

"Sounds like a bargain then..." answered the nerd, though part of his brain told him that it actually wasn't and that his leg was being pulled.

For some strange reason, he got the strange urge not to buy anything from the mysterious salesman and that this was too good to be true...but unfortunately he did not trust his instinct.

"It's a deal!" exclaimed the boy as he foolishly handed the con artist some cash.

"Thanks a lot you mo-I mean, my dear customer! Here is your new Magikarp!" cheered the Magikarp Salesman as he handed Ned a Pokeball with a Magikarp inside.

Curious, Ned decided to give his new Pokemon a scan. He immediately got suspicious when he heard what his Pokedex had to say.

"Magikarp, the Fish Pokemon. It is the weakest Pokemon in the history of ever." explained Ned's Pokedex.

"Wait a second..." murmured Ned.

"Whoops! Look at the time! Got to go!" bellowed the con artist as he ran out of the Pokemon Center.

Ned promptly sighed. It looked like he had been duped. How could he have fallen for it so easily?

"Should I call Officer Jenny? Something tells me that she might be looking for him..." wondered the nerd.

Chris came by a few seconds later.

"Did I miss anything?" inquired Chris.

"I think I just got scammed...now I'm five hundred dollars short..." answered the nerd.

The unfeminine Pokemon trainer promptly sighed.

"And to think I left you alone for just a few minutes...what's gotten into you?" noted Chris.

"Stupid Magikarp salesman..." murmured Ned.

"Meh, I'm sure he'll be brought to justice eventually. He can't keep getting away with what he's been doing forever." answered the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"I sure hope so...personally I wonder where he hopped off too anyway?" answered the male Pokemon trainer.

"He's probably out there looking for someone else to scam...I hear that nowadays he likes scamming Team Rocket members out of their money and Pokemon..." murmured Chris.

"He's scammed Team Rocket out of their money and Pokemon? That's rather ironic considering what they do for a living..." noted Ned.

"It's a taste of their own medicine, I guess. Let's head to Mt. Moon, shall we? I'm dying to get my second gym badge." inquired the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"Well, technically, we got our first gym badges a few minutes ago...but I'm with you there! I heard that the gym leader there is a mermaid!" answered Ned.

"That's just her Gym Leader title...she's not actually a mermaid...though she does train water-types. Do you have to believe everything you hear?" answered Chris.

"Aww!" complained Ned, realizing that once again, things turned out to be too good to be true.

And so, the two Pokemon trainers headed off to Mt. Moon.

_Oh dear...Ned got tricked by the evil Magikarp salesman...when will he ever learn not to scam other Pokemon trainers out of their money?_

_Oh, and Lucy and Jake sent Team Rocket blasting off...apparently this keeps happening to them even when they're not actually dealing with Ash Ketchum himself...it's rather weird._

_And yes, this was the fifth time this week that had happened to them. I wonder how they manage to survive anyway? Then again, that's like answering how many licks it takes to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop...no scientist will ever be able to figure it out._

_In the next chapter...well, everyone's going to head to Mt. Moon...oh, and a certain pair's going to get two Pokemon fossils...how nice._


	12. Chapter 12: Rocket To The Moon

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter...well, all four of our characters will be heading to Mt. Moon...though admittedly two of them will be getting there first._

_But whose going to get the fossils? You'll find out in due time, my dear friends...assuming of course that you actually decide to read this chapter...which you will hopefully. Heh heh heh._

_And yes, I used a pun for the title! Unfortunately, you probably won't find it funny. Ah well. Then again, maybe you will. What do I know?_

**Chapter 12: Rocket To The Moon**

"I can't help but shake the feeling that we're eventually going to encounter Team Rocket again..." worried Lucy.

"What makes you say that?" inquired Jake.

"Well, they seem rather determined to get their hands on my Clefairy." noted Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded...and wished that they would try catching Pokemon themselves for a change.

Jake sighed.

"I suppose we're just going to have to make sure we're prepared." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

Lucy nodded in agreement, though personally she was hoping that they wouldn't encounter them again, or that they would eventually turn over a new leaf.

Fortunately for the two, now that they were finally able to leave Pewter City, they noticed that there were many trainers nearby.

"Looks like we're going to have a lot of battles on our hands." noted Lucy.

Jake nodded his head in agreement. Of course, this would also be a good chance for them to gather experience for their Pokemon for their cash, so obstacles would also prove to be opportunities.

"Which ones should we go after? I can't help but shake the feeling we should go after someone specific..." inquired Jake.

"Well, there does seem to be a youngster and a lass nearby." noted the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"I suppose I'll battle the youngster and you battle the lass then...that sounds like a good idea as any." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"OK! Sounds like a plan!" exclaimed Lucy.

Sure enough, the youngster and the lass noticed them.

"Hey buddy! I want you to check out my awesome Pokemon! It's the best Pokemon there is!" exclaimed the youngster.

"Yeah, what he said...though personally I think that my Jigglypuff is the best." continued the lass.

"What makes you say that?" inquired the youngster.

"Er, our Pokemon are both the best?" asked the girl.

"That's more like it!" exclaimed the boy.

"Are you traveling as a duo too?" inquired Lucy.

"Yeah, pretty much. Though to be honest we haven't gotten any badges yet." answered the youngster.

"Fair enough...wait, how'd you get past the guard then?" answered Jake.

"We saw him get arrested by Officer Jenny." noted the lass.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" questioned Lucy, recalling how hostile he was to them simply because they didn't have the Boulder Badge at the time.

The youngster promptly sent out his Pikachu...while the lass sent out her Jigglypuff.

"Funny, doesn't Chris own a Jigglypuff too?" thought the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

Jake gave the Pikachu a scan.

"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon. It's the official Pokemon mascot...and can generate electricity in its cheeks."

"That explains why they're red." noted Jake.

The Team Rocket Grunt sent out his Rattata while Lucy sent out her Clefairy.

"Rattata!" exclaimed Jake's Rattata.

"Clefairy!" squealed Lucy's Clefairy.

"Pikachu, use Thundershock!" ordered the youngster.

The youngster's Pikachu did so...and Jake's Rattata ended up being zapped.

"Rattata!" exclaimed the Mouse Pokemon. Who would have thought that another mouse Pokemon would have so much electricity at its disposal?

"Clefairy, use Metronome!" ordered Lucy.

Clefairy did so...and breathed a steam of fire on Jigglypuff.

"Jigglypuff!" bellowed the enemy Jigglypuff as she was hit by the flamethrower.

"There's no telling what my Clefairy's going to do whenever she uses Metronome..." noted Lucy.

"I wonder if I could try teaching one of my Pokemon that..." wondered the lass.

"Jigglypuff, use Sing!" ordered the lass.

Jigglypuff did so...but Lucy's Clefairy had enough experience with Chris's Jigglypuff to know to cover her ears.

The lass promptly frowned. She was hoping that that would have worked...that always seemed to be effective when she battled her partner's Pikachu.

"Try using Metronome again..." answered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded, and struck her enemy Jigglypuff with a tidal wave...this time, she fainted.

The lass promptly sighed as she handed Lucy some Pokedollars.

"I wish my Jigglypuff could do that..." she murmured.

Meanwhile, Jake was dealing with the youngster, and was turning the tables on him after that nasty electric shock.

"Use Quick Attack!" ordered the Team Rocket Grunt.

His Rattata did so, and he got a critical hit.

"Pikachu!" bellowed the opposing Pikachu.

"Yikes! Try using Thundershock again!" exclaimed the youngster.

The youngster's Pikachu nodded as he started charging another electric attack, but this time Jake's Rattata was ready, and he dodged it like a pro.

"No!" exclaimed the youngster.

His Rattata then began to focus, gathering some energy.

"Oh...looks like you've learned Focus Energy now...that's nice." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Use Tail Whip!" ordered the youngster.

The opposing Pikachu started shaking his tail at the opposing Rattata, causing his defense to lower.

However, this ultimately wouldn't do the Mouse Pokemon any good, considering what would happen next.

"Use Tackle!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Rattata did so, tackling into the opposing Pikachu...who winded up fainting thanks to a well-timed critical hit.

"Pikachu!" exclaimed the youngster as he recalled his Pikachu into his Pokeball.

_A few seconds later..._

"You guys are too good for us..." said the youngster.

"I'm really impressed with your strength..." agreed the lass.

"It was nice battling with you." answered Lucy.

"Yeah...it sure was." agreed Jake.

They decided to leave the two to continue on their own respective Pokemon journeys. Fortunately, there was a Pokemon Center nearby, so that they could essentially battle as any many trainers as they wanted.

"Should we train here a little longer?" inquired Lucy.

"Maybe..." answered Jake.

Suddenly, they heard someone calling for help. Apparently, someone needed their immediate assistance.

"Help me! Somebody do something! This is a disaster! What am I going to do?!" bellowed a nearby scientist.

Curious, they decided they what was the problem.

"Is something the matter?" asked Lucy.

"Team Rocket's invaded Mt. Moon! They're after rare Pokemon and are excavating fossils here! They're going to become filthy stinking rich!" bellowed the scientist.

"So, they're basically going to become like Lucy then?" thought Jake to himself.

"What?!" exclaimed the wealthy Pokemon trainer. Team Rocket was lurking in Mt. Moon? It looked that their journey was about to become more complicated.

"Clefairy?" inquired Lucy's Clefairy. Were they going after Clefairies just like her? She knew that many of them were residing in Mt. Moon, and started to worry about their safety.

"You've got to help me! You need to drive them out now!" demanded the Pokemon researcher.

Jake promptly sweatdropped. Sure, he could give the scientist a hand...but in order to do so, he would have to battle Team Rocket Grunts...grunts that were just like him.

"What should I do?" he thought.

He then remembered that since he was in disguise...the other Team Rocket Grunts probably wouldn't recognize him, anyway.

"It's a deal! We'll help you clear out the Team Rocket Grunts!" exclaimed Lucy, shaking the scientist's hand.

Jake sighed. It looked like Lucy wasn't going to give him a choice in the matter...and started to wonder if he should simply confess to her that he was part of the villainous team.

"Er, where are they anyway?" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt.

"They're deep inside Mt. Moon, I believe...though you'll still have to take them down if you want to get to Cerulean City." noted the scientist.

"Good to know." answered Lucy.

To make a long story short, the two of them entered Mt. Moon.

_Meanwhile inside Mt. Moon,_

As it turns out, there were several different Pokemon trainers inside the mountain, even though with Team Rocket around they probably should have been leaving.

Of course, then again, it's not like many of them were actually aware of Team Rocket's presence.

Ned and Chris decided not to ask the Pokemon trainers what they were doing in the mountain, and instead challenged them to Pokemon battles. Chris was up against a hiker...while Ned was up against another nerd.

"When I'm finished with this battle, I'm going to climb to the top of this mountain!" exclaimed the hiker.

"Isn't that going to be really difficult? I personally would like to see you try..." inquired Chris.

"Well, I can at least get through this mountain and head towards Cerulean City for now." he answered.

"I suppose." answered the tomboy.

"Go, Geodude!" yelled the hiker.

Sure enough, he sent out a Geodude.

Chris decided to test her new Nidoran.

"Go, Nidoran!" exclaimed Chris as she sent out her latest Pokemon.

"Nidoran!" bellowed the poisonous Pokemon as he was released from his Pokeball.

"Use Rock Throw!" ordered the hiker.

Geodude did so, tossing a few stones at Nidoran. Fortunately, he dodged most of them, though one of them did hit him on the head. He promptly rubbed it with his paw.

"A Rock-type, eh? Try using Double Kick!" exclaimed Chris.

Nidoran nodded and kicked Geodude twice in succession...and as the hiker found out, this was surprisingly effective against Rock-types. Geodude fainted.

"I don't get it...wouldn't kicking a rock hurt you?" inquired the hiker as he returned his Geodude to his Pokeball.

"Not a Pokemon, apparently." answered Chris.

"Go, Onix!" bellowed the hiker.

"Funny, isn't that the team that Brock typically uses for his gym battles? I have to admit, he was a rather disappointing gym leader...he gave me his badge for free." explained the tomboy.

"Really?" asked the hiker.

"Yeah...at least you won't back down from a challenge..." answered Chris. "Anyways...Nidoran, use Double Kick!"

Nidoran did so, kicking Onix twice in succession. However, this wasn't quite enough to take him down.

"Use Tackle!" ordered the hiker.

Onix did so, pummeling into the unfortunate Nidoran. Fortunately, though he was rather woozy, he was still OK.

"Nidoran..." murmured the injured Pokemon.

"Use Double Kick again..." spoke Chris.

Chris's Nidoran did so, causing Onix to collapse to the ground. The hiker promptly recalled his Pokemon.

"Maybe you're right...I guess I'm not cut out for climbing Mt. Moon yet." answered the hiker as he handed Chris some cash.

"You could always try climbing your own Onix. He seems pretty tall...though admittedly not as tall as a mountain." noted Chris.

"Hmm..." thought the hiker. That did seem like an interesting idea...should he try doing that instead?

Meanwhile, Ned was dealing with a nerdy Pokemon trainer...or in other words, a trainer that was just like him.

"Go, Magnemite!" exclaimed the nerd as he tossed his Pokeball.

Sure enough, a Magnemite came out of it.

"Magnemite!" exclaimed the metallic Pokemon.

Ned couldn't help but give it a scan...wondering why it only had one eye when most Pokemon had two.

"Magnemite, the Magnet Pokemon. It can defy gravity and loves electromagnetic waves." explained the Pokedex.

"Interesting..." he thought. "I suppose I'll send out my Nidoran for this one...she deserves her day in the limelight."

Sure enough, he decided to send out his Nidoran.

"Nidoran!" exclaimed his Nidoran as she was released from her Pokeball.

"I wonder why Chris got the male one and I got the female one...it doesn't make sense." questioned Ned.

"You're traveling with a girl? I'm jealous!" exclaimed the opposing Pokemon trainer.

Ned sweatdropped.

"Anyways, use Supersonic!" demanded the enemy nerd.

The opposing Magnemite did so, causing Nidoran to become dizzy.

"Uh-oh!" he thought.

Nidoran tried attacking the opposing Magnemite...but she hit her own head instead.

"Nidoran?" inquired the confused Pokemon.

"Very good! Now use Thundershock!" ordered the enemy nerd.

The opposing Magnemite nodded, and zapped Ned's unfortunate Nidoran. Fortunately, this had the side effect of restoring Nidoran to her senses.

"Nidoran?" asked Ned's Nidoran, wondering what had happened.

"Use Double Kick!" ordered Ned.

Nidoran immediately charged towards the enemy Magnemite, kicking it twice in rapid succession.

For some strange reason, this was super-effective, and the Magnet Pokemon fell on the floor with its single eye shut.

"Darn it!" exclaimed the opposing nerd as he returned his Pokemon.

"Got any other Pokemon?" inquired Ned.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do! Go Voltorb!" exclaimed the nerd.

"Voltorb!" bellowed the Pokemon as it was released from the Pokeball.

"Strange...this Pokemon looks just like a Pokeball..." thought Ned as he scanned it with his Pokedex.

"Voltorb, the Ball Pokemon. It is often mistaken for a Pokeball...and enjoys self-destructing." explained the Pokedex.

"Self-destructing? That doesn't sound good." murmured Ned.

"Trust me, it isn't. Use Self-Destruct!" ordered the opposing nerd.

"Voltorb!" exclaimed Voltorb as it rolled towards Nidoran.

Fortunately for Ned, his Nidoran saw it coming, and she leapt out of the way before it could blow itself up.

BLAMMO!

"Voltorb..." murmured the enemy Voltorb as it fainted.

"Oh dear...it seems that it faints whenever it performs that move..." explained Ned.

"Well, it's usually fine whenever it does it outside a Pokemon battle...which is unfortunately all the time." answered the nerdy Pokemon trainer as he recalled his Voltorb.

Ned smiled as he received some prize money.

_A few minutes later..._

"There sure are a lot of interesting rocks around here..." noticed Ned.

"You think some of them might actually be fossils?" questioned Chris.

"Maybe, I'm not sure...say, there's a rather big one over there." pointed out the nerd.

Sure enough, there was a rather big rock nearby...though there seemed to be something funny about it.

Nonetheless, Ned decided to pick it up.

"Isn't this an interesting-looking rock..." he thought.

He was then met with a big surprise.

"Geodude!" bellowed the disguised Pokemon.

Ned once more screamed like a little girl, and dropped the Geodude on the floor.

"Funny, I'm actually starting to like hearing him scream..." thought Chris. "It's always so hilarious..."

Chris gave the Geodude a scan.

"Geodude, the Rock Pokemon. It is often mistaken for boulders, thus people often step or trip on it."

"Well, in Ned's case, he picked it up." noted Chris.

The Geodude must have been irritated that Ned had dropped it on the floor, because it started swinging its fists at him.

"Nidoran! Help me!" demanded Ned. Fortunately for him, his Nidoran was still outside her Pokeball.

Nidoran did so, and stabbed the Geodude with her poison barbs.

"Geodude..." murmured the rock Pokemon, who was now feeling sick.

"Pokeball, go!" exclaimed Ned as he threw his Pokeball.

Due to the fact that the rock Pokemon was poisoned, it didn't put up much of a fight against the capturing device...and just like that, Geodude was caught.

"Sheesh, that Pokemon scared the heck out of me..." noted Ned.

Nonetheless, he decided to return his Nidoran and examine his new Pokemon by sending it out of its Pokeball.

"So, you're a dude Pokemon huh?" inquired Ned.

For some strange reason, the Geodude crossed its arms in irritation.

"Huh?" inquired the nerd.

Giving it a a scan with his Pokedex, he realized that the Geodude was actually a female.

"Whoops! Guess I should be calling you dudette..." answered the nerd.

Ned's female Geodude nodded.

"Back to your Pokeball you go, dudette." answered Ned as he returned his new Pokemon to her Pokeball.

"Didn't know that Geodudes could be female..." noted Chris.

"I guess you learn something new every day...er, my Magikarp wouldn't happen to be a girl too, now would it? I know that my Nidoran and my new Geodude are..." answered the nerd.

Chris gave the Magikarp's Pokeball a scan.

"Nope, it's a dude." answered the tomboy.

"OK then." nodded Ned. "Let's go look for some fossils!"

"The only ones who are going to be looking for fossils are us!" answered a mysterious voice.

Curious, Ned and Chris looked around, and discovered that there were two Team Rocket Grunts standing a few feet from them.

"How did I not notice them before?" inquired Chris.

"You think we would have noticed them..." answered Ned.

Oddly enough, one of them was a fair bit taller than the other.

"Listen here you little twerps...we're in a middle of an operation here!" exclaimed the taller Team Rocket Grunt.

"I'd advise you to scram!" continued the shorter Team Rocket Grunt.

"Well, since you asked us so nicely...how about no!" exclaimed Chris.

"You asked for it." answered the taller Team Rocket grunt.

The taller Team Rocket grunt sent out a Zubat, while his partner sent out a Zubat.

"I'll take care of the tall one, you take care of the smaller one..." ordered the tomboy.

"Who are you calling small?" bellowed the smaller Team Rocket Grunt.

Ned reluctantly sent out his Eevee.

"B-be careful out there." warned the nerd, worried about having to battle evil Pokemon trainers.

"Eevee?" inquired his Eevee, not realizing what the problem was.

Chris immediately sent out her Jigglypuff.

"These guys are bad...so let's give them a taste of their own medicine, shall we?" inquired the tomboy.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed her balloon Pokemon in agreement.

Chris gave the Zubat a scan.

"Zubat, the Bat Pokemon! It uses ultrasaonic waves as a form of sight!" explained the Pokedex.

"Funny, I don't think it actually has eyes..." noted the female Pokemon trainer.

"Zubat, use Supersonic!" demanded the Team Rocket Grunt.

The evil Pokemon trainer's Pokemon nodded, and started to screech at the opposing Pokemon.

Fortunately, though the attack did hurt Jigglypuff's ears, she wasn't confused.

"Can I sing a song for you? Or in this case, can my Jigglypuff? Use Sing!" ordered Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded, and sang a song for the opposing Zubat, who promptly fell asleep...though oddly enough, he was still flying in midair.

"Urgh! You're worthless!" bellowed the Team Rocket Grunt. Apparently he wasn't happy at how incompetent his Pokemon was.

"Now use Pound!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff did so, pounding into the opposing Zubat. Unfortunately, he still did not wake up from his slumber.

"Wake up!" demanded the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Looks like I get in another attack. Use Pound!" ordered Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff did so, and this time she got a critical hit. The opposing Zubat promptly fell on the cavern floor.

"I don't believe this..." murmured the Team Rocket Grunt as he recalled his Pokemon and gave his opponent some of his cash...which he had stolen from another Pokemon trainer earlier.

Of course, Ned was still dealing with the small Team Rocket Grunt.

"C'mon! I dare your Pokemon to attack mine! Or are you scared?" taunted the smaller Team Rocket Grunt.

Ned was sweating quite a bit, though oddly enough his Eevee wasn't.

"Eevee?" inquired Ned's Eevee. Why wasn't his trainer giving him commands.

"You're such a disappointment. Rattata, use Tackle!" exclaimed the evil Pokemon trainer.

His Rattata did so, tackling into Ned's Eevee, who now looked to be in a state of mild discomfort.

Seeing that his Pokemon had been hurt, Ned promptly came to his senses.

"Leave my Pokemon alone! Use Tackle!" exclaimed the nerd.

Ned's Eevee did so...and took out the Team Rocket's Grunt Pokemon with one shot.

"Huh, I guess I had nothing to worry about." thought Ned, realizing that he had been worked up over nothing.

"You can say that again." answered the Team Rocket Grunt as he handed the nerd some of his ill-gotten cash.

A few seconds after they had been both been defeated, the Team Rocket Grunts decided to flee Mt. Moon and head to Cerulean City...though not before deciding to threaten the trainers that had taken them down.

"You may have defeated us, but one of these days our boss is going to catch you, and when he does he's gonna-" the taller Team Rocket Grunt whispered the rest of the threat in Chris's ears.

"Huh. We'll see about that." answered the tomboy, who oddly enough wasn't feeling too phased despite how nasty the threat it was.

The smaller Team Rocket Grunt did the same for Ned...he made like a losing Pokemon and fainted.

The two Team Rocket Grunts then ran away as fast as they could. Chris sighed realizing what had happened to her partner.

"Well, might as well have some fun. Jigglypuff, why don't you give him a mustache?" inquired the tomboy.

"Jigglypuff!" cheered the balloon Pokemon, eager to do so.

Chris also noticed that Ned's Eevee had fallen asleep.

"And while you're it...why don't you give his Eevee a mustache too?" inquired the tomboy.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded as she set out to do her job.

"That'll teach him to fall asleep on his Pokemon journey with me...though I have to admit he looks kind of cute when he's sleeping...then again, so does his Eevee..." noted the tomboy.

And so, Chris sat back and watched Jigglypuff draw on both Ned and his Pokemon.

_Oh no! Team Rocket's up to no good in Mt. Moon! But not to worry... our heroes are going to stop them...that's what they do best, after all._

_And yes, Ned's Geodude is actually a Geodudette...see what I did here? Heh heh heh._

_Oh, we'll get to see whose actually going to obtain the Pokemon fossils...sound like fun? I know it's going to be fun for me..._

_Adios!_


	13. Chapter 13: Excavation

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, well, guess what? Lucy and Jake are going to run into more Team Rocket Grunts! Oh dear! Well, this is the thirteenth chapter after all...so I'm not sure what you were expecting._

_But on the brighter side of things, Chris and Ned are going to get some fossils...yes, I just revealed whose going to get them. Heh heh heh._

**Chapter 13: Excavation**

Lucy and Jake stepped into Mt. Moon, wondering where the Team Rocket Grunts had wandered off too.

"I'm sure they're up to no good..." thought Lucy.

"I just hope that I'm not discovered..." thought Jake.

Curious, they decided to explore the cave to see if they could find anything suspicious. Sure enough, they noticed that several of the wild Pokemon were on edge.

Apparently, they had all noticed that something was wrong at Mt. Moon, and that someone was up to no good.

"You think they're aware that Team Rocket is here too?" questioned the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Well, I can tell that they're nervous about something...that's for sure." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

A few minutes later, the duo encountered two Team Rocket Grunts trying to capture a Clefairy...one of them was skinny, while the other was fat.

Things looked good for them too. They currently had the Clefairy cornered, so there was no escape for her.

"It looks that scientist was right! There are Team Rocket Grunts in this mountain!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Yes...and by the looks of things, they're trying to capture as many wild Pokemon as possible." nodded Jake.

"Clefairy!" screamed the wild Clefairy, realizing that she was in danger.

"Finally! Finding one of these took forever! Why do they have to be so rare?" exclaimed the skinny grunt.

"If they weren't rare Pokemon, we wouldn't get a lot of cash for them. Since we've finally found it, let's snatch it for our boss, shall we?" inquired the fat Team Rocket Grunt.

"I was afraid that you would never ask!" bellowed the skinny Team Rocket Grunt as he pulled out a Pokeball.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed the worried Clefairy, not looking forward to being captured by the two Pokemon poachers.

Suffice to say, Lucy's Clefairy felt rather sympathetic. There had to be something she could do about all this.

Suddenly, the two Rocket Grunts noticed Lucy and Jake. They immediately gasped in surprise.

"Hey! What are you two kids doing out here?!" exclaimed the skinny Team Rocket Grunt.

"Yeah! Get the heck out of this mountain! We're busy trying to catch Pokemon!" demanded the fat Team Rocket Grunt.

"We're trying to get to Cerulean City so that we can get our second gym badge." explained Lucy.

"Too bad for you, then! You aren't going anywhere!" answered the skinny Team Rocket Grunt.

"We're not letting you through! You can't make us!" continued the fat Team Rocket Grunt.

"Sheesh, what is your problem?!" exclaimed Jake.

Pulling out a single Pokeball each, the skinny Team Rocket Grunt sent out a Sandshrew while his partner sent out an Ekans.

"Get 'em, boys!" ordered the two Team Rocket Grunts.

"Sandshrew!" exclaimed the opposing Sandshrew.

"Ekans!" hissed the opposing Ekans.

Lucy gave the opposing Sandshrew a scan to see if there was anything that she could use against him.

"Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokemon. It dislikes water with a passion and a vengeance." noted Lucy's Pokedex.

"Too bad I don't have a water Pokemon...that would make fighting it a lot easier. Maybe I could try looking for one later?" noted Lucy.

"You take care of the one with the Ekans...I'll take care of the one with the Sandshrew." ordered Jake.

"Alright..." nodded Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy promptly detached herself from Lucy's back...eager to help out another member of her species.

Jake decided to send out his Grimer.

"Grimer!" cheered the sludge Pokemon as he oozed out of his Pokeball.

"Clefairy, use Metronome!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded as she began to use to wave her hands back and forth. Soon enough, they began to glow white.

Shortly afterwards, she began to glare at the Ekans rather fiercely.

This proved to be rather effective, as the opposing snake Pokemon was immediately paralyzed with fear.

"Ekans!" screeched the enemy Ekans. Who would have thought that a Clefairy could be so horrifying?

"Oh c'mon!" bellowed the fat Team Rocket Grunt, disappointed at how easily frightened his Pokemon was.

The enemy Ekans tried to move...but he was simply too scared. He really didn't want to mess with a Pokemon that scary.

"Don't tell me you're frightened of a Fairy Pokemon like that..." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Ekans..." whimpered the opposing snake Pokemon, dropping his head.

"Seeing though it worked so well the first time, try using Metronome again!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy did so, and this time she hit the Ekans with a powerful blast...that seemed to have come from her mind, oddly enough.

This proved to be super-effective against the opposing Ekans, and it was knocked out cold.

"Are you using a Gameshark or something?! Because there's no way you could have won this battle without it!" bellowed the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Er, what's a Gameshark? I've never heard of it...does it roam the seas or something? Is it a Water Pokemon?" questioned Lucy.

For some strange reason, Lucy's Clefairy got the strange feeling that he was referring to some sort of cheating device.

"Clefairy?" inquired Lucy's Clefairy. Why was he accusing them of cheating? She was pretty sure she was following the rules.

"Bah! Whatever! Just take your prize money, you little cheater!" exclaimed the fat Team Rocket Grunt as he handed Lucy some prize money.

"Why do you think i'm a cheater?" inquired Lucy, unsure of why he was telling her those things.

"Clefairy." murmured the Fairy Pokemon. The Team Rocket Grunt in question was apparently a poor sport...something that personally didn't surprise her too much.

Of course, Jake was dealing with the skinny Team Rocket Grunt, as he had said he would be doing.

"You're never going to defeat me! My Pokemon has a type advantage over yours! I suggest you surrender!" taunted the evil Pokemon trainer.

"Does it know any Ground-type moves?" inquired Jake.

"Well technically no...but it's still going to beat you!" bellowed the Team Rocket Grunt.

"We'll see about that...Grimer, use Poison Gas!" ordered the other Team Rocket Grunt.

Jake's Grimer did so, causing the Team Rocket Grunt's Sandshrew to start to feel very sick.

"C'mon! You can fight it!" bellowed the skinny Team Rocket Grunt.

"Sandshrew..." murmured the opposing Sandshrew. To be honest, he wasn't really sure if he could.

"Now use Pound!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Grimer immediately pummeled into the opposing Ground Pokemon.

"Scratch that pile of slime!" demanded the skinny Team Rocket Grunt.

His Sandshrew did so...though since Grimer was a pile of sludge, this didn't too much good.

"Grimer?" inquired Jake's Grimer. For some reason, he had hardly felt that attack.

Suddenly, Grimer snapped his fingers...and the enemy Sandshrew felt very forgetful.

"Didn't know that he could snap them...wait, do Grimers even have bones?" thought Jake.

"Grimer?" inquired his Grimer curiously. Did he secretly have them? Personally he doubted it considering how elastic he was...then again, he was still able to snap his fingers nonetheless. It was weird.

"Scratch it again!" ordered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Sandshrew?" inquired the enemy Sandshrew. For some strange reason, it couldn't remember how to do it.

"Urgh! You're pathetic!" bellowed the grunt.

"Sandshrew..." murmured the Sandshrew sadly. Why couldn't his trainer treat him with respect?

"Looks like you've learned Disable...good for you." noted Jake.

"Grimer!" cheered Jake's Grimer. It always felt good to learn a technique...no matter how many he learned.

However, he was starting to have a hard time remembering the moves his trainer had taught him.

"Grimer?" inquired Jake's Grimer. Should he try forgetting a move? Surely there was one he didn't really need anymore...

"What, you want to forget a move? Well, I suppose you don't really need to harden yourself since you're already rather resilient..." noted Jake.

Jake's Grimer nodded, and decided to forget how to harden itself.

"Is that better?" inquired Jake.

His Grimer nodded. All of a sudden, he had a much easier time remembering his attacks.

As it turns out, the skinny Team Rocket member was still trying to get his Pokemon to use Scratch.

"Why won't you listen to me?! For the love of Giovanni!" bellowed the grunt.

Sandshrew scratched his head...and suddenly, he remembered how to use the technique.

"Finally! Now hurry up and take down this literal slimeball!" ordered the Team Rocket member.

Suddenly, the opposing Sandshrew collapsed from the poison. Apparently, that nasty gas had finally taken their toll.

"Are you kidding me?!" yelled the grunt as he returned the Sandshrew to his Pokeball.

Jake noticed that Lucy had also defeated her opponent as well, and promptly smiled.

"Well, you two weren't so tough." noted Jake as the skinny Team Rocket Grunt handed him some cash.

"I have to admit, they sure had a fair amount of cash...though I can't help but shake the feeling that they stole it." spoke Lucy.

"Yeah..." answered the male Pokemon trainer.

"You may have defeated us, but guess what? Mt. Moon is just the beginning! We're eventually going to take over the world!" exclaimed the skinny Team Rocket Grunt.

"We are?" inquired the fat man.

"Well yeah...that's what our boss said. He told us that eventually he's going to rule all of Kanto...with an iron fist!" noted the skinny man.

"Oh right...I think there's more regions in the world than just Kanto though..." answered the fat Team Rocket Grunt.

"Meh, I suppose we have to start somewhere. Let's run for it!" exclaimed the skinny Team Rocket Grunt.

"Do we have to run?" complained the fat man, not looking forward to the thought of exercise.

"Yes we do! Now c'mon!" exclaimed the skinny one, grabbing his partner by the hand and running out of Mt. Moon.

The wild Clefairy promptly cheered. She was glad that she had been saved. Oddly enough, Lucy's Clefairy actually shook hands with her.

Jake promptly returned his Grimer to his Pokeball...and of course, Lucy's Clefairy returned to her backside.

"Team Rocket sure is up to no good, aren't they? I'm sure that they've got other heists planned." inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded, while Jake sweatdropped.

"Yes...yes, they are." he answered nervously.

Exploring the cave a bit further, they noticed that there were Pokemon on the ceiling. A whole bunch of them in fact. They seemed to be taking a snooze.

Curious, Lucy decided to give them a scan, but Jake quickly realized that that was a bad idea, and put a stop to it.

"No!" whispered the Team Rocket Grunt, grabbing onto the Pokedex.

"What is it?" murmured Lucy.

"We need to keep quiet! We don't want to wake these Pokemon up..." explained the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Oh, right..." answered the wealthy Pokemon trainer, realizing that she had almost woken up the Pokemon.

Sure enough, one of the Zubats lurking on the ceiling did wake up, and started circling them with curiousity. Jake promptly sighed.

Curious, it decided to use its sonic screams to identify them...

...but Jake put a stop to that as well.

"Shh!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt, putting a finger on his mouth.

Curious, Zubat decided to look up (even though it didn't have eyes)...and noticed that its buddies were still sleeping. It promptly sweatdropped, realizing what it had almost done.

Jake and Lucy tiptoed their way out of the cave and towards a place where the Zubat wouldn't hear them.

"Well, that's a sigh of relief...I was worried that we were going to get swarmed." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Yeah, me too." nodded Lucy.

Suddenly, they noticed that the Zubat they had awakened a few minutes ago was still following them.

"Er, do you want a Pokemon battle or something? Because I've got a few Pokemon if you're interested..." inquired Jake.

The wild Zubat nodded. Apparently it wanted to test out Jake's skill, as well as its own.

"Suit yourself." answered the grunt as he sent out his Rattata.

"Rattata!" bellowed the Mouse Pokemon.

Immediately, the opposing Rattata bit into the enemy Zubat...and it wouldn't let go, either.

"Zubat!" screeched the bat Pokemon.

Suffice to say, the mouse Pokemon was sent flying all over the place as the bat pokemon flew across the cave.

Eventually, the opposing Zubat successfully dropped Rattata to the floor, and used a Supersonic attack to make him confused.

"Rattata?" murmured Jake's Rattata, who was now feeling rather dizzy. How was he supposed to attack the Zubat again?

"Looks like I need to recall him so that he doesn't inevitably beat himself up." said Jake as he returned the mouse Pokemon to his Pokeball.

He decided to send out his Mankey to continue the battle. It seemed like a good choice of Pokemon as any...though he noted that it had a type disadvantage against Zubat.

"Mankey!" exclaimed the monkey Pokemon, flexing his muscles.

"Try Scratching it." ordered Jake.

Jake's Mankey did so, scratching the opposing Zubat in the face.

He responded by leeching the life out of him, though thankfully it wasn't much, especially considering that Mankey was resistant to Bug-type attacks.

"Mankey..." murmured the monkey Pokemon in irritation.

Jake noticed that the Zubat was now having trouble flying in the air...and decided that now was the best time to throw a ball.

"Pokeball, go!" exclaimed Jake as he tossed a Pokeball. Immediately, the opposing Zubat was sucked inside.

Though the bat Pokemon put up a brief struggle, the bat Pokemon ended up being trapped inside. Jake promptly smiled.

"Well, looks like I have four Pokemon now." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

Giving it a scan with his Pokedex, he determined that the bat Pokemon in question was male.

"Well, that's another masculine Pokemon for me." thought the Team Rocket Grunt.

Suddenly, the duo noticed that one of the exits for Mt. Moon was nearby.

"Looks like we're home free!" squealed Lucy.

Jake nodded in agreement, though he wondered if there were any other Team Rocket Grunts inside the cave.

"Let's head to Cerulean City, shall we? Surely we're not far from it now..." questioned the Team Rocket Grunt.

Lucy nodded in agreement.

And so the two of them exited Mt. Moon to head to the next gym.

_Now let's check on Chris and Ned..._

Chris and Ned continued their way towards Mt. Moon...and eventually, they noticed that there were about four Team Rocket Grunts nearby.

"Oh dear...it's more of those Team Rocket bozos...I wonder how many of them are in this mountain, anyway?" noted Chris.

"They sure love to capture Pokemon, don't they? Personally they're making me rather nervous." questioned Ned.

"Please...everyone knows that if they decide to battle us we'll be able to take them down with ease." answered the tomboy.

"But there's so many of them! I think we're outnumbered this time!" exclaimed the nerd.

"There's only four of them, we'll be fine." stated Chris.

"If you say so." answered Ned nervously.

Sure enough, there were a large amount of Pokemon native to Mt. Moon inside two nets that a duo of Team Rocket Grunts were hauling.

These Pokemon in question including Paras, Zubats, Geodudes, and of course, a few Clefairies, all of which looked rather concerned.

Where exactly was Team Rocket going to take them? They could end up anywhere...all they knew was they were being taken away from their home and being whisked away.

Of course, some of them were also carrying some fossils...since they were rather valuable too.

"Heh heh heh, these fossils are going to make us quite a bit of cash! I can't wait to sell them!" exclaimed one of the Team Rocket Grunts.

"Yeah, me too! Though personally I want to keep one for myself..." noted another one of the Team Rocket Grunts.

"Fine, but we're selling the rest!" answered yet another one of the Team Rocket Grunts. Apparently, he was the one who had put himself in charge.

Personally, Chris wondered what exactly they wanted with them. Didn't those goons realize that those fossils belonged in a museum?

Then again, these particular Team Rocket Grunts had probably never heard of a museum to begin with. For some reason, they never seemed to be too smart.

Ned in particular was rather worried about the situation. Something had to be done about what Team Rocket was up to.

"They're going to use those Pokemon and those fossils to fund their criminal empire! We have to stop them!" answered the nerd.

"Right, of course. I was getting to that. What kind of trainer do you think I am? Go Beedrill!" exclaimed Chris.

Sure enough, she threw the Pokeball containing her bee Pokemon.

"Beedrill!" exclaimed Chris's Beedrill.

Suffice to say, it didn't take long for Beedrill to notice what Team Rocket was doing. She looked somewhat unhappy.

"Why don't you try stinging those Team Rocket Grunts? I'm pretty sure they deserve it..." noted the female Pokemon trainer.

Chris's Beedrill nodded, and started flying straight towards the grunts, much to their surprise.

"Oh man! There's a Beedrill coming right for us!" bellowed one of the Team Rocket Grunts.

"Run for cover!" yelled another one of the Team Rocket Grunts.

To make a long story short, Team Rocket immediately panicked and fled the mountain, dropping the net of Pokemon and the fossils they were all holding in the process..

The wild Pokemon released themselves from the net shortly afterwards and decided to flee as well...as far away from the Team Rocket Grunts as possible.

"Well, that takes care of those losers. Sheesh, it's like they thought that were the biggest criminals in the world or something...well, I sure proved them wrong." noted Chris.

"Say, they dropped a few fossils...should we take a look at them? I'm personally interested in researching them..." spoke Ned.

"If it will satisfy your curiousity, you little geek." answered the tomboy.

Ned frowned.

Curious, they decided to examine them. They immediately noticed that one of them had a large shell on it, while the other had a seashell on top.

For some strange reason, Chris got the urge to grab the one with the shell.

"I'll take this one!" exclaimed the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"I'll take the one with the seashell on top then...it seems like as good of a fossil as any." noted Ned.

Scannig them with their Pokedex, they discovered that the fossils they were holding were the Dome and Helix Fossils, respectively.

"I wonder which Pokemon they once were..." spoke the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"I just hope that they powerful Pokemon once." answered Chris.

Curious, they decided to see if they could grab the rest, but a nearby scientist had already beaten them to the punch.

"Mine! All mine! Hahahaha! My precious!" laughed said Pokemon trainer as he scooped up the fossils.

After placing them all in a rather large bag, he immediately ran away to find the nearest museum to donate them towards...which of course was in Pewter City.

Ned promptly sighed. It looks like they weren't going to be able to get any more fossils.

"I suppose those fossils are out of our hands now. At least he'll send them off to a good place...hopefully." spoke Ned.

"Why does he want those fossils so bad anyway? Is he greedy or something? Or is he just obsessed with them?" questioned Chris, wondering why he had acted so crazy when he gotten his hands on them.

Ned shrugged. Her guess was as good as his...or in other words, he had no idea either.

Immediately, the two Pokemon trainers noticed that there was an exit nearby.

"Well, time to leave this mountain once for all." spoke Chris.

Ned nodded in agreement. He found being inside this place to be rather scary, even though it was surprisingly bright inside the mountain.

And so the two of them left Mt. Moon to continue their Pokemon adventure.

_A few minutes later..._

Giovanni was in his office, overhearing some bad news from one of his employees regarding their ill-fated mission at Mt. Moon.

"Boss, I don't know how to tell you this! A bunch of kids came by and thwarted our operation! We didn't capture any Pokemon or fossils!" exclaimed the commanding Team Rocket Grunt.

"Was it the operation in Mt. Moon? You always were talking about it...you said that it was going to be the biggest heist in history." noted Giovanni.

"Yes, it was going to be one...it's a shame, we had so many Pokemon too." answered the grunt.

"Well, to be honest, it wasn't the only operation we're executing here. At this very moment, a duo of my best grunts are robbing a man of his technical machine as we speak. Pretty soon we'll be able to dig our way across Kanto." explained Giovanni.

"I suppose that's a decent consolation...though I really wish we could have pulled it off, boss." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"It doesn't matter now. Oddly enough, I told the two of them simply to go after two different Pokemon trainers, but they always seem to go the extra mile...unlike my incompetent trio here, who as it turns out, only obeyed one of the orders I gave them." explained Giovanni.

"We thought you just wanted her Clefairy!" exclaimed James.

"And that's why you need to listen to me better next time. But as it turns out, you won't actually need to lift a finger after all. Turns out that girl's on a quest to obtain eight gym badges..." explained Giovanni.

"We've never been able to earn a single Pokemon badge..." whined Jessie.

"Yes, that's because you two stink at being Pokemon trainers. But do you know what this means?" inquired the head honcho.

"What?" asked Meowth.

"It means that inevitably, she'll be heading to Celadon City." answered Giovanni.

"Isn't that where our hideout is?" inquired James.

"Yes it is. Do you see where I'm going with this?" questioned the leader of Team Rocket.

"Where are you going with this?" asked Jessie.

"Of course you wouldn't catch on...even though the plan is simple...as soon as she arrives in Celadon City...and as soon as nobody is noticing...we'll snatch the girl and then victory shall be ours!" exclaimed Giovanni.

"Oh...now we get it! You're a genius, boss!" answered Meowth.

"Of course I am. Why do you think I'm in charge here? However, we're still unaware of where that AWOL Team Rocket Grunt of ours is...but if we can capture the girl, he won't really matter anymore." explained Giovanni.

"Right..." nodded James.

"So all we have to do now is wait." answered the boss.

The three Team Rocket trio shrugged and decided to leave his office. As they did so, Giovanni thought of all the money he could make.

"You know, should I charge her parents more than just a million dollars? Surely they have far more than that..." he thought.

He pondered his extortionist plans as he sat in his chair.

_Well, Chris and Ned have put an end to Team Rocket's scheme at Mt. Moon, by the looks of things._

_Oh dear, it looks like Lucy's slowly walking into a trap...poor girl. Hopefully Giovanni isn't going to succeed._

_Oh, and Jake has a Zubat now. Lucky him!_

_What Pokemon is one of our heroes going to catch next?_

_Adios!_


	14. Chapter 14: Abra Kadabra

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, our heroes are going to meet with each other again...and in the following chapter, they're going to be battling with each other again too! Sound sweet?_

_But right before that Lucy's going to catch another Pokemon...and it's probably going to be a little surprising this time._

_Of course, you'll probably be able to tell by the chapter title...because I love making so many puns..._

_And one last thing...in this chapter, we're going to cutaway to a slightly different Pokemon trainer...heh heh heh._

**Chapter 14: Abra Kadabra**

After getting out of Mt. Moon, it didn't take too long for Lucy or Jake to make their way to Cerulean City.

Sure enough, they noticed there was another gym nearby.

"I wonder what type of Pokemon the Gym Leader here specializes in this time?" questioned Lucy.

Jake decided to read the sign. Apparently, the gym leader here was known by the name of Misty.

"Misty the tomboyish mermaid, huh? I think we have a Water-type specialist on our hands this time." explained the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Yeah...it looks like we do. Should we go look for a Grass or an Electric Pokemon?" answered Lucy.

"I suppose we can if we find that she's too tough for us to handle without them..." noted Jake.

Suddenly, Jake noticed that Officer Jenny was nearby standing in front of a nearby house, and suddenly felt nervous.

Lucy on the other hand immediately wanted to talk to her.

"What's the matter, Officer Jenny? You look down." asked the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"I'm afraid something bad happened here." answered the police officer. "Two of the residents here ended up being robbed."

"What?!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Yes...thankfully they didn't take much...but it was a fairly valuable technical machine. I'm personally worried about them..." answered Officer Jenny.

"I sure hope that you can catch whoever did this." encouraged the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Thank you...to be honest, I initially came here after I heard about what was going on Mt. Moon, but when I traveled through the caves, none of the Team Rocket Grunts were there..." explained Officer Jenny.

"Yeah...we actually ran into a few of them while were visiting Mt. Moon, but my friend and I took care of that." answered Lucy.

"Did you?" inquired the police officer. "Well, I appreciate your assistance...but keep in mind that Team Rocket are rather nasty criminals...if you're going to pick a fight, don't underestimate them."

Lucy and her Clefairy nodded in agreement.

"Who was that friend of yours that helped you defeat them anyway?" asked Officer Jenny.

"Oh, he's right over there." answered Lucy.

Curious, Officer Jenny looked around, and noticed that Jake was nearby. He looked rather surprised to see her...and fairly nervous too.

"Er, hi there, Officer Jenny! How are you?" inquired Jake.

"Doing fine. How about you?" questioned Officer Jenny.

"I'm...heh heh heh...having a great day! There's not a cloud in the sky!" laughed the disguised Team Rocket Grunt nervously.

"Ah yes...it is rather nice outside today, isn't it? Shame that Team Rocket decided to ruin for everyone." answered the police officer.

"Heh heh heh, yeah!" exclaimed Jake, still worried that the police officer might recognize him.

"Why does he somehow look familiar?" thought Officer Jenny. Had she seen him somewhere before? Or someone that looked like him?

"Well, uh, good luck catching that criminal!" exclaimed the incognito Team Rocket Grunt.

"Good luck doing whatever it is you're doing too." answered the police officer.

Jake sweatdropped, realizing that Officer Jenny had just encouraged him to continue his criminal work, even though he wasn't so interested in doing it anymore after meeting Lucy.

"Mm-hmm. Where do you think they hopped off too anyway?" inquired Jake.

"Well to be honest, they're right outside the house on the other side..." answered Officer Jenny.

"Really?" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt, surprised at how close his fellow Team Rocket members were.

"Yes...but since they're two of them and only one of me, I don't think it'd be smart for me to try to arrest them by myself...so I'm waiting for backup to arrive." explained the police officer.

"You mean like your sisters?" inquired Jake.

"Funnily enough, most of the police force in Kanto does consist of my sisters...but pretty much any police officer will do." explained Officer Jenny.

"I see...hope it arrives soon then...heh heh heh!" laughed the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Is there any reason why you keep laughing?" questioned the police officer. "You're making me a little concerned here...I'm starting to wonder if you should visit Nurse Joy."

"I er, played with some laughing gas! Ha ha ha ha!" answered Jake.

"Oh...well, you really shouldn't have done that. Here's some water so that you can get rid of it." replied Officer Jenny, handing him a bottle of water.

"Er, thank you! I'll be seeing you later!" exclaimed Jake as he began to gulp it down.

Officer Jenny was about to say goodbye, but as it turns out, he had already ran away.

"Where are you going?" inquired Lucy, who began to chase after him.

Five trainers that were already on the bridge asked them if they wanted to participate in their challenge, but the duo of them ran right past them.

"I guess they weren't interested." noted one of the youngsters in charge of the challenge.

"Shame...they could have won a precious Nugget..." answered a lass.

"Yeah...we don't call it the Nugget Bridge for nothing." answered another lass.

"Can we call it the Golden Bridge?" inquired the lass.

Eventually, Jake stopped to catch his breath.

"Why'd you run off like that?" questioned Lucy.

"Sorry, I got nervous talking to Officer Jenny for so long." apologized Jake.

"Oh." answered the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Where are we anyway?" inquired Lucy.

"I'm not sure." answered Jake.

Suddenly, Lucy noticed that there was a sleeping Pokemon nearby. Curious, she decided to scan it with her Pokedex.

"Abra, the Psi Pokemon. It sleeps eighteen hours a day, and can teleport its way to safety." explained the Pokedex.

"Interesting..." thought the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

Sure enough, the wild Abra started teleporting around the place.

"That Abra sure is fast, isn't it?" questioned Jake.

"Yeah...how am I supposed to catch it?" inquired Lucy.

Curious, Lucy tried throwing a Pokeball, but it teleported out of the way.

"Abra..." murmured the Psi Pokemon. She was going to have to try harder than that.

Curious, Jake decided to send out his Grimer and have it attack the psychic Pokemon, but it sensed the Sludge Pokemon's approach, and teleported out of the way once again.

"Grimer..." murmured the Sludge Pokemon sadly.

"How are we supposed to catch it if it keeps teleporting away from both our Pokeballs and our Pokemon?" inquired Jake.

"We're going to have to think outside the box..." noted Lucy.

Suddenly, Lucy's Clefairy detached herself from her back...she had something in her hand.

"What's this? A loudspeaker? Where did you get that?" inquired the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed the Fairy Pokemon.

"You stole from a police officer?! What were you thinking?!" bellowed Lucy.

"Clefairy..." murmured the Pokemon sadly.

"You're going to need to give that back..." explained the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

Suddenly, Lucy remembered that Abras spent most of their time sleeping...what would happen if she tried waking it up?

"Could you give me that loudspeaker you stole for a second?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded as she handed her a loudspeaker.

"Wake up!" bellowed the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

Sure enough, the Abra woke up with a start.

"Abra?!" exclaimed the Psi Pokemon in surprise. Who had stirred it from its slumber?

Lucy then tried throwing a Pokeball again.

The wild Abra, noticing that another Pokemon was being flung, tried to teleport out of its way again...but as it turned out, it couldn't use psi while it was awake.

"Abra!" exclaimed the Abra as it was sucked inside.

And for the exact same reason, it couldn't put up much of a fight while it wasn't sleeping either, not even against a Pokeball.

Sure enough, there was a familiar ding, and Abra was caught.

"Alright! That's my fourth Pokemon!" cheered Lucy.

"Funny...my Grimer once told me that you were rather ditzy...yet you seem rather intelligent to me..." noted Jake.

"Just because I'm ditzy doesn't mean I'm stupid." answered the mildly offended Pokemon trainer.

"True..." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

Giving her new Abra a scan, she discovered that it was a boy.

"Looks like this is my first male Pokemon..." noted Lucy.

"That's nice." noted Jake.

"Well, we'll need to return that loudspeaker that my Clefairy stole from Officer Jenny...why does she keep doing that?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy shrugged. Maybe she was a kleptomaniac? Maybe because she was getting desperate to get supplies to repair her spaceship? Either one of these answers could be an explanation.

"But we'll need to cross that bridge again...and it's rather long too. Not to mention that there are about five different Pokemon trainers on that bridge..." answered Jake.

Lucy then remembered that she had caught a Pokemon that was capable of teleporting. Maybe he could give them a hand?

"Go, Abra!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer as she sent out her Psi Pokemon.

"Abra." murmured the psychic Pokemon, who oddly enough was once again asleep.

"Can you teleport us back to Cerulean City?" inquired Lucy.

Abra nodded...and pretty soon, along with the teleporting Pokemon himself, the duo and their starter Pokemon began to glow with psychic energy.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.

"Grimer!" bellowed Jake's Grimer.

"This feels rather weird..." noted Jake.

"Whoa!" yelled Lucy.

A few seconds later, they found themselves being whisked away across space and time. Well, maybe not time.

And a few more seconds later, they found themselves back in Cerulean City.

"Well, that didn't take very long...but I feel a bit woozy. Thanks for the help, Abra." noted Lucy as she returned her Abra to his Pokeball.

"Abra." nodded Lucy's Abra, who personally just wanted to keep sleeping.

"Let's give this loudspeaker back to Officer Jenny, shall we? Heh heh heh." inquired Jake nervously.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded. She was starting to feel guilty about taking things that didn't belong to her...which unfortunately could not also be said for a lot of Team Rocket Grunts.

"And while we're at it, shouldn't we give her a hand? We already defeated a couple of Team Rocket Grunts before...I'm sure that we could do it again." answered Lucy.

Jake sweatdropped.

"Um, sure..." answered the Team Rocket Grunt, though he wasn't really looking forward to betraying his team once again.

_Now let's check on the other duo..._

"Why are we visiting the bike shop, Chris? Do we have enough cash to buy another bike?" inquired Ned.

"Heck no! We've still ninety-eight hundred thousand dollars to go!" exclaimed Chris.

"Aww..." complained Ned.

"We're just here to see if there are any discounted bikes." answered the tomboy.

"Oh." thought Ned. To be honest, part of him actually didn't mind traveling with Chris, and actually enjoyed it.

Nonetheless, he was hoping that he would somehow be able to eventually pay off the tomboy's debt. He still owed her one after all...and it wasn't just because his starter Pokemon had destroyed her bike. She had also done him a few favors in the past, such as saving his Eevee from Team Rocket.

Sure enough, there was in fact quite a few bikes that were on discount. One of them was even half-off.

But as it turns out, they still didn't have nearly enough money to pay for one of the bikes.

"Guess I'll have to keep traveling with you then." answered Ned.

Chris nodded. Part of her was actually looking forward to that, even though she had initially wanted to go on her journey solo.

"Admittedly, going on a solo Pokemon journey can be dangerous anyway...though so far it seems that only Ned has gotten into any trouble, really." thought Chris to herself.

"Are you going to buy anything?" inquired the bike shop owner.

"Sorry, your prices are too high for us." answered the tomboy.

"It's not like I'm running a charity here, you know!" exclaimed the shop owner angrily.

"If only you were..." murmured Ned.

"Get out!" demanded the store owner, pointing to the door.

Chris and Ned shrugged and decided to do what the Cerulean bike shop owner told them to do.

Maybe if they were lucky, they'd encounter another bike shop owner who was more generous...

"Sheesh, why was he so Krabby towards us?" inquired Ned.

"He's just a grumpy old man who was genetically engineered with no brain." answered Chris.

"I heard that!" bellowed the bike shop owner from inside the bike store.

"Whatever!" exclaimed Chris.

"You do realize that since I have a bike, I'll be able to catch you if you get on my bad side, am I right?" inquired the owner.

"Are you still using training wheels?" taunted the tomboy.

"Grah!" screeched the angered bike shop owner.

"Are you sure you should keep making fun of him?" inquired Ned.

"But it's so much fun...you should give it a try." explained Chris.

"But the bike shop owner scares me..." answered the nerd.

"And you call yourself a man?" taunted the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

Ned shrugged and decided to use the least offensive insult he could think of.

"Um...you smell funny?" inquired the nerd.

The bike owner shrugged. He honestly didn't know how he felt about that particular insult.

"If you need me, I'll be listening to the Pokemon theme song." answered the owner as he put on some headphones.

"He wants to be the very best, huh? That's a nice dream to have..." spoke Ned.

"Too bad nobody actually is the very best...well, except for me, of course. Everyone knows that." answered Chris.

"What?" inquired the nerd curiously.

"I won my first Pokemon battle, didn't I?" inquired the tomboy.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Have I lost a Pokemon battle before?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then I think you know it to be true. Try searching your feelings." answered Chris.

Ned shrugged and decided that maybe he should try searching his feelings...which typically involved girls.

Suddenly, they noticed that Officer Jenny was nearby.

"Do you think we should give her a hand?" inquired Ned.

"But I want to get my second Gym badge..." answered the tomboy.

"I still think we should help her...there seems to be so many criminals in Kanto these days." answered the nerd.

"Meh, all the more reason for us to take them down, then." nodded Chris.

And so the two of them agreed to help Officer Jenny.

"What seems to be the trouble?" inquired Ned.

"A couple of Team Rocket grunts just robbed two people here out of a rather valuable technical machine...apparently, they want to dig their way to no good." explained the police officer.

"Like to China?" inquired Chris.

"Very funny." answered Officer Jenny sarcastically.

"That's no good. The people here must be rather upset about all this." noted the nerd.

"That they are. And to make matters worse, I'm outnumbered two to one, so I can't stop them from making off with it. I tried calling for backup, but I think they got stuck in traffic or something." answered Officer Jenny.

"Lousy traffic jams..." thought Chris.

"Would you like us to help you?" inquired Ned.

"I suppose you can if you're up to this...but be careful. Team Rocket are a rather dangerous bunch of crooks...and did I mention that they're evil?" explained the police officer.

"Dangerous? I single-handedly thwarted their operation at Mt. Moon with only my Beedrill." answered Chris.

"That's rather impressive of you...but keep in mind that not every member of Team Rocket are simple-minded Grunts. Their leader is in fact a very experienced Pokemon trainer." explained Officer Jenny.

"He is? I'm starting to feel scared..." noted Ned.

"Try to be cautious, will you?" inquired the female police officer.

Ned and Chris nodded, though the latter felt that she wouldn't need to be.

As it turns out, the culprits were none other than Butch and Cassidy.

"Looks like a job well done." noted Cassidy.

"Our boss is going to be so proud of us." answered Butch.

"Maybe he'll finally remember your name?" inquired the female Team Rocket Grunt.

"Hopefully...though personally I doubt it." answered the male Team Rocket Grunt.

"I don't get it...I usually remember your name...why can't anyone else?" inquired Cassidy.

"Beats me." answered Butch.

"Stop right there!" exclaimed Ned.

Curious, the duo turned around and discovered that there were two Pokemon trainers trying to stop them from getting away.

"Oh, would you look at that...two little kids want to stop us from succeeding in our evil scheme. How cute." explained Cassidy.

"Just a little kid?! I'm a teenager!" exclaimed Chris.

"Uh-huh, sure." answered Butch sarcastically.

"You won't get away with this!" bellowed Ned.

"Oh of course we will...right after we sing our motto!" exclaimed the male Team Rocket Grunt.

"You have a motto too?" inquired Chris.

"Yes...though we assure you that it's far better than the song that trio of losers always sing, in case you've heard it before." answered Cassidy.

"Let's hope so." answered the tomboy.

"Prepare for trouble!" snag Cassidy.

"And make it double!" continued Butch.

"To infect the world with devastation!" bellowed Cassidy.

"To blight all people in our nation!" shouted Butch.

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!" cheered the female Team Rocket Grunt.

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!" exclaimed the male Team Rocket Grunt.

"Cassidy!"

"Bob-I mean Butch!"

"Team Rocket circling the Earth day and night!" sang Cassidy.

"Surrender now or you'll surely lose the fight!" continued Butch.

"Raticate!" exclaimed Cassidy's Raticate, releasing herself from her Pokeball.

"Funny, that song sounds pretty similar to the one Jessie and James sang to us..." noted Ned.

"That's because they stole the lyrics from us because they couldn't think of an original song." answered Cassidy.

"I see..." nodded Chris.

"So, what did you think?" inquired Butch.

"I was impressed...almost." answered the tomboy.

"Fair enough." said Cassidy.

"You had better surrender to us...otherwise you're going to lose!" taunted Butch.

"No way, Bubby. We're not going to lose against Team Rocket for a million lightyears...especially not against you." taunted Chris.

"My name is Butch!" screamed the angry Team Rocket Grunt.

"Whatever, Billy Bob." answered the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"I'll teach you to remember my name! Go, Primeape!" bellowed Butch as threw a Pokeball.

"Primeape!" bellowed the ape Pokemon as it was sent out.

"Go, Raticate!" exclaimed Cassidy as she tossed a Pokeball.

"Raticate?" inquired her Raticate. Why was she throwing her empty Pokeball?

Cassidy realized that her Pokemon was already on the battlefield, and promptly sweatdropped.

"Oh, that's right...silly me." answered the female Team Rocket Grunt.

Suddenly, Lucy and Jake arrived on the scene.

"We're here to stop you!" exclaimed Lucy.

They promptly noticed that Chris and Ned were facing the Team Rocket Grunts as well.

"Er, are you facing these guys too?" inquired the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Yes we are...thanks, but we don't need your help." answered the tomboy.

"Are you sure? These guys seem tough..." noted Ned.

"But I like a challenge!" exclaimed Chris.

Suddenly, Butch noticed that that one of the four Pokemon trainers looked familiar.

"Say, isn't that-"

"Alright, freeze!" exclaimed Officer Jenny, suddenly arriving on the scene as well along with her Growlithe.

"Growlithe!" exclaimed the canine Pokemon.

"No! It's Officer Jenny!" bellowed Cassidy.

"Primeape!" bellowed Butch's Primeape in fear.

"Raticate!" screamed Cassidy's Raticate.

"Run for it!" bellowed Butch.

Recalling their Pokemon, the two Team Rocket Grunts fled for the hills...which for some reason were just a few feet away from them.

Unfortunately, they were still in possession of the TM they stole.

Officer Jenny promptly sighed.

"Well, I suppose I can't always win...thanks for helping me anyway, though." answered the police officer.

"You're welcome, Officer Jenny!" cheered Lucy.

"Darn it! I was hoping that I'd actually be able to have a Pokemon battle with them!" exclaimed Chris.

"I on the other hand am rather relieved that they're gone." answered Ned.

"Me too. Let's go get the Cerulean City badge, shall we?" questioned Jake.

"Right...here we go!" exclaimed Lucy.

And so the four of them headed to Cerulean Gym...but they all had a question to ask.

"Which one of us should fight the Gym Leader first?" inquired Ned.

"Guess we'll be battling each other again over it!" cheered Chris.

"Right...well, here we go." answered Jake.

And so the two duos got to battle each other...for the second time.

"Well, this is going to be fun." thought Lucy.

_Meanwhile..._

Ash Ketchum scratched his head. For some strange reason, he got the strange feeling that he wasn't the only Pokemon trainer that was fighting Team Rocket on a regular basis.

Curious, he decided to consult his Pikachu.

"Are you starting to get this strange feelings too?" inquired Ash.

Now that Pikachu thought of it, he was getting the strange feeling that there was another Pokemon that Team Rocket was determined to get their hands on...and for some strange reason, he got the feeling that this one was a girl.

"Pikachu..." thought the electric Pokemon. Whoever that Pokemon was, he wished them good luck.

Suddenly, they found themselves grabbed by two familiar Pokemon trainers that would never leave them alone for a million years.

"What the-" murmured Ash as he was stuffed into a cannon along with Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" exclaimed the electric mouse Pokemon.

"Let us go!" demanded the Pokemon trainer.

"Let's see how you like it, twerp." answered Jessie.

James lit the fuse for the cannon...and oddly enough, Ash Ketchum and Pikachu were the ones that got sent blasting off.

"Looks like we're experiencing irony!" bellowed Ash Ketchum as he was sent flying away along with Pikachu.

"Pika pi!" shouted the electric mouse Pokemon in agreement.

DING!

"Revenge is sweet." spoke Jessie, feeling rather satisfied with herself.

However, their victory was ultimately short-lived.

"Um, shouldn't we have stolen Pikachu instead of sending him blasting off too?" questioned Meowth.

Jessie and James sighed, realizing their mistake.

"Looks like Team Rocket's failed to steal Pikachu once again..." murmured the two.

Fortunately for Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, their landing was surprisingly painless.

"I'm starting to see why Team Rocket always comes out of this uninjured..." noted Ash Ketchum.

Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"At least they didn't actually go after you this time..." murmured the Pokemon trainer. "Still, I wonder if I have a female counterpart of sorts out there or something..."

"Pika pi?" inquired Pikachu. For some strange reason, he got the feeling that the Pokemon trainer in question had a Clefairy...considering how valuable those Pokemon were to Team Rocket, it wouldn't be very surprising.

They decided it was ultimately best not to dwell on it, and decided to resume their Kanto journey.

_Yes...in case you haven't noticed, this story takes place in a slightly alternate universe than the one that takes place in the anime...though as you can see I'll still be using a similar one so that I can poke fun at the running gags...like the bike gag for one...heh heh._

_Anyways, in the next chapter, there's going to be Pokemon battles! Hooray! Oh, and a gym leader too. Have fun!_


	15. Chapter 15: Rematching

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, we're going to see some Pokemon trainers battle each other...since you know, in the last chapter, Butch and Cassidy got chased away by Officer Jenny. I was hoping that she would catch them._

_But no matter. Let's see what happens when our heroes try battling each other again...though unfortunately there won't be a gym leader battle in this chapter...there will be gym leader battles in the next chapter though, I can tell you that._

_And yes, they will be against Misty. Isn't that obvious?_

**Chapter 15: Rematching**

"Alright then...as before, Lucy gets to battle Ned...while I get to battle Jake. Sound like a plan?" explained Chris.

"Is this a mini-tournament again?" inquired Jake.

"I don't really feel like having a third Pokemon battle this time...so I suppose the two people who win get to take a vote together, I guess. Of course, I know I'm going to win my battle already." answered the tomboy.

"What makes you so sure about that?" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt.

"I already beat you once before, and I'm pretty sure I can do it again. Are you all set?" inquired Chris.

Jake, Lucy, and Ned all nodded.

"Alright then...I'll be sending out my Nidoran first." explained the tomboy as she tossed her Pokeball.

"Nidoran!" exclaimed the poisonous Pokemon as he was released from the Pokeball.

"Your Nidoran's a dude?" inquired Jake.

"Is there anything wrong with that?" questioned Chris.

"I just figured that it would be a girl...since well, you know." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Whatever. Let's just battle already! I'm already getting impatient!" nodded the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"I suppose it's time for me to try out my new Zubat...I bet he wants to participate in a Pokemon battle." noted Jake as he threw a Pokeball of his own.

However, as it turns out, his new Pokemon seemed unhappy about something.

"Zubat..." murmured Jake's Zubat. He had a frown on his face.

"Er, what's the matter?" inquired Jake.

Curious, he gave his Zubat a scan with his Pokedex.

"Note to Pokemon trainers, Zubats do not enjoy sunlight. If you leave them in the sun for too long, they'll get slightly burned." explained the Pokedex.

"Oh dear..." thought the Pokemon trainer. This might be a problem.

Fortunately for Zubat, there was some shade nearby, so that he could shield himself from the sun's rays.

Immediately, a smile appeared on his face. He promptly flew over to it.

"Is that better?" inquired Jake.

His Zubat nodded...though he wondered if he should try building up a resistance to sunlight. That would do him a lot of favors in the near future, by the looks of it.

Alternatively, he could simply try battling at night since he would likely have the advantage in that situation, though this would inevitably not always be the case.

However, as the bat Pokemon quickly found out, Chris wasn't happy that the opposing Pokemon was trying to fly away from her rather than stand and fight.

"Trying to get away from me? I don't think so! We're in the middle of a Pokemon battle here! Nidoran, after him!" exclaimed the tomboy.

"Nidoran!" exclaimed Chris's Nidoran.

Immediately, Nidoran started chasing after Zubat.

"Use Supersonic!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Zubat did so, causing Chris's Nidoran to feel dizzy.

"Nidoran..." murmured the poison Pokemon.

"Darn it!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer. "Now I have to switch..."

Sure enough, Chris switched her Pokemon...and sent out her Spearow.

"You think with that new Pokemon of yours you rule the sky, do you? Think again!" exclaimed Chris.

"Spearow!" exclaimed Chris's Spearow.

"I suppose I don't." noted Jake.

Immediately, her Spearow pursuited after Zubat.

"Zubat!" screeched Jake's Zubat as he got hit.

"Ah, I see that you like chasing after other Pokemon now..." noted Chris, realizing that Spearow could now use Pursuit.

Chris's Spearow nodded. Why not chase after Pokemon that liked to return to their Pokeballs? It wasn't like he had to sit there and watch them switch out.

"Er, you wouldn't happen to have any new tricks since our encounter at Mt. Moon, would you?" inquired Jake.

Zubat thought to himself if he had learned anything new. Unfortunately, he came up with nothing.

"Try using Supersonic then. That seemed to work well against Nidoran." noted Jake.

Jake's Zubat did so...but unfortunately Chris's Spearow covered his ears with his wings.

"Nice try...but my Spearow's not falling victim to that trick. Use Peck!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris's Spearow did so, pecking into Jake's Zubat, who was now feeling rather weak.

"Oh dear...try leeching life out of it!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Zubat did so, but unfortunately this was rather ineffective due to Spearow being a Flying type.

"Zubat..." murmured Jake's Zubat sadly.

"Well, this battle's proving to be disappointing so far. Spearow, use Fury Attack!" ordered Chris.

Chris's Spearow did so, attacking Jake's Zubat furiously. He could not tolerate such a ferocious assault, and he was knocked out.

Jake sighed as he returned his Zubat to his Pokeball.

"Well, looks like I'm going to have to send out my Rattata." spoke Jake as he sent out the rodent Pokemon.

Meanwhile, Ned sent out his Magikarp, sighing as he did so.

"Let's see if Magikarp really is the weakest Pokemon..." spoke Ned as he sent out the weak Pokemon.

"Magikarp!" exclaimed the fish Pokemon as he was sent out of his Pokeball.

Immediately, he realized that he was not on land, and immediately he started to splash about.

"Let's go, Abra!" exclaimed Lucy as she tossed Abra's Pokeball.

"Abra." murmured the Psi Pokemon as he was sent out. Couldn't he just get some sleep? Then again, he could still technically battle while he was asleep, unless for some strange reason a Pokemon inflicted it on him.

He didn't really understood how that worked...even though he was a Psychic Pokemon and therefore pretty intelligent.

"Magikarp, use Splash!" exclaimed Ned.

Magikarp splashed about...but it did nothing to Abra.

"Abra, use Teleport!" ordered Lucy.

Abra tried to do so...but Ned cut him off.

"Hey! You're not allowed to run away from a Pokemon battle!" exclaimed Ned.

"Abra..." murmured the Psi Pokemon sadly.

Suffice to say, it didn't take long for them to realize that they were at a stalemate.

"Oh dear...I don't think we're going to be make much headway, are we?" inquired Lucy.

"I suppose we could wait until they start using Struggle." suggested Ned.

"I think that would be take a long time..." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"I suppose you're right...let's just say that both of them fainted, OK?" asked the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Lucy nodded as they recalled both Pokemon back to their Pokeballs.

"Alright then...I'll be sending out my Geodude next!" exclaimed the intelligent Pokemon trainer.

"Geodude!" exclaimed the rock Pokemon as she was released from her Pokeball.

"Hmm...I don't really have a Pokemon to deal with that...except for maybe my Clefairy." said Lucy.

Sure enough, her Clefairy detached herself from her back.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed the starter Pokemon.

"Use Rock Throw!" ordered Ned.

Ned's Geodude did so, and started tossing rocks at Clefairy.

"Clef!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy as one hit her on the head.

"You OK there, buddy?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt by the attack much.

"Good! Try using Metronome!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy did so, and started to breathe on Geodude. Said breath was extremely cold, which didn't bode too well for her considering that she was a Ground type.

"Geodude!" exclaimed Ned's Geodude as she was frozen solid.

"Oh man! You've got to thaw yourself out! You're a sitting Psyduck out there!" demanded Ned.

Ned's Geodude tried to do so...but unfortunately her icy prison wasn't an easy one to escape from.

This of course gave Lucy's Clefairy the opportunity to try using Metronome again.

"Let's see what you get this time." spoke Lucy.

Sure enough, Lucy's Clefairy began to use another move...this time, it was a punch that shattered the ice prison that Geodude was inside.

Though Geodude was technically made of hard rock, this proved to be surprisingly effective against her.

In fact, she fainted.

"Geodude..." murmured Ned's Geodude as swirls appeared in her eyes.

Ned sighed as he returned his ill-fated Pokemon to her Pokeball. Lucy's Clefairy herself returned to her back so that she could switch out for another Pokemon.

"Alright then...let's go Nidoran!" exclaimed Ned as he sent out his Nidoran.

"Nidoran!" exclaimed the poison Pokemon as she was released from her Pokeball.

"Your Nidoran is a girl?" inquired Lucy.

"Yes it is. Why are you asking?" answered Ned.

"I just figured that yours would be a dude." explained the female Pokemon trainer.

"To be honest, I was thinking that too. But I guess that's just the way it is." answered the nerd.

"Anyways, I'll be sending out my Pidgey now." spoke Lucy as she threw another Pokeball.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed her Pidgey as she was released from her Pokeball.

Immediately, she attacked the opposing Nidoran as fast as she could.

"Nidoran!" exclaimed the poison Pokemon as she was hit.

"Your Pidgey may be fast...but don't assume you're going to win this!" noted Ned.

"I won't...though admittedly that would be nice." answered Lucy.

"Double Kick!" ordered the not-so-masculine Pokemon trainer.

Ned's Nidoran did so, kicking Pidgey twice in succession. Though Pidgey was technically a Flying-type, this still did a significant amount of damage...since technically she was a normal-type too.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed Lucy's Pidgey.

"Try blowing it away with Gust!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey did so, but though Ned's Nidoran took some damage from the attack, this ultimately did not blow her away.

"Pidgey..." murmured the pigeon Pokemon sadly.

"Good job! Now use Scratch!" ordered Ned.

Ned's Nidoran nodded as she started scratching the unfortunate bird Pokemon. She ended up fainting.

Lucy promptly sighed.

"Well, at least you learned a new technique." noted Lucy as she returned her Pidgey to her Pokeball.

On the other side of the battlefield, Chris was still facing off against Jake.

"Let's hope that your Rattata does better than your Zubat did." noted Chris.

"We'll see about that. Rattata, use Bite!" ordered Jake.

Rattata did so, sinking his teeth into Spearow.

"Spearow!" exclaimed the sparrow Pokemon, trying desperately to get him off.

"This might be a problem." noted Chris.

"I'm afraid so!" answered Jake.

After much difficulty, Chris's Spearow had managed to shake Jake's Rattata off...but the damage had already been done.

"Spearow..." murmured the bird Pokemon, who was now feeling rather beat up.

"Use Quick Attack!" exclaimed Jake.

"Use Peck!" ordered Chris.

Of course, as Jake well knew, Quick Attack almost always went first, meaning that Rattata was able to immediately attack Spearow and score the victory.

"Rattata!" cheered Jake's Rattata.

"Enjoy your victory while you can, little rodent, it's not going to last long." answered Chris as she recalled her Spearow.

Jake's Rattata frowned.

"Remember my old friend, Mr. Nidoran? Well guess what! This time you don't have your Zubat to save you!" exclaimed Chris as she sent out her poison Pokemon once more.

"Nidoran?" inquired Nidoran. To be honest, he was feeling a little confused that his trainer was sending him twice on the same day.

Of course, he wasn't nearly as confused as when that Zubat had hit him with that sonic screeching of his, much to his personal pleasure.

"He's a Normal Pokemon, isn't he? Try using Double Kick." ordered Chris.

Chris's Nidoran nodded, and Jake's Rattata ended up losing a lot of hit points.

"Rattata!" exclaimed Jake's Rattata. He was now feeling pretty exhausted.

"Use Quick Attack!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Rattata did so...but in the process, he made contact with Nidoran's poison barbs.

He unsurprisingly became poisoned...and he ended up fainting.

"Good job buddy." answered Jake as he recalled his Pokemon.

"What will you send out next?" inquired Chris.

"I'll be sending out my Mankey...even though he's a Fighting-type." answered Jake.

"Suit yourself." nodded Chris.

Meanwhile, Lucy had decided to send out her Butterfree next, since she had a quadruple resistance to fighting attacks.

"You can do this, Butterfree!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Butterfree!" cheered the butterfly Pokemon as she was released from her Pokeball.

For some strange reason, she appeared to be having a hard time remembering her moves.

"Er, did you learn anything new while you were in that Pokeball?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree nodded.

"Let's see now...it looks like you have access to three different types of powder now...interesting." noted the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

The buttefly Pokemon nodded once again.

"Well, I suppose you don't need to harden yourself anymore...so I guess you can forget that." noted Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree nodded, and forgot how to use Harden, learning how to use Poison Powder instead.

However, she was still having trouble learning how to use new moves.

"Oh, that's right, we've got two more moves to decide...well, since our opponent here is immune to poison attacks...I suppose you can forget Poison Powder..." answered Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree nodded and forgot how to poison her foes.

"I guess you can forget String Shot too...since you can fly after things now." answered the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

The butterfly Pokemon nodded as she forgot how to use String Shot.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." apologized Lucy.

"It's fine...my Pokemon's going to be learning new moves sooner or later." noted Ned.

His Nidoran nodded in agreement.

"Alright then...try putting it to sleep!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree nodded, and made Ned's Nidoran take a snooze.

"No!" exclaimed Ned. Oddly enough, this reminded him of the time Chris's Jigglypuff did the same to his Eevee.

"Now follow up with a Confusion." ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree did so, making Ned's Nidoran take a lot of damage. And yet she still did not wake up.

"Well, this isn't going to end well." noted Ned.

Sure enough, it didn't. Lucy ordered her Butterfree to use Confusion again, and she scored a critical hit. Ned's Nidoran went down.

"Darn it! If only I had my Geodude..." murmured Ned. "Well, might as well send out my starter."

"Right." agreed Lucy.

"Go Eevee!" exclaimed the unmasculine Pokemon trainer.

"Eevee!" shouted the evolution Pokemon as he was released from his Pokeball.

"Funny, part of me wishes that I had an Eevee..." noted Lucy.

"Don't you already have a Clefairy?" questioned Ned.

"True..." answered Lucy.

"Use Tackle, Eevee!" ordered Ned.

Ned's Eevee did so, tackling into the opposing Butterfree.

"Use Stun Spore!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree did so...but Eevee blew it away.

"Good job, Eevee!" cheered Ned.

"Eve!" cheered the rabbit Pokemon.

"Oh dear, looks like I'm going to have do better than that." noted Lucy.

"Use Swift, Eevee!" ordered Ned.

Ned's Eevee did so, shooting stars at Lucy's Butterfree. She promptly realized that her bug Pokemon wasn't going to be able to take many more hits.

"Well, since Ned's Eevee's probably going to blow the powder away again...I suggest that you try using Confusion instead." suggested Lucy.

"Butter!" exclaimed Lucy's Butterfree, doing as her mistress demanded.

Immediately, Ned's Eevee got pelted with a mind blast...though he ultimately wasn't too harmed.

"Use Swift!" ordered the intelligent Pokemon trainer.

His Eevee did so...and Butterfree went down.

"Time for your time to shine again, Clefairy." explained Lucy.

"Clefairy!" cheered Lucy's Clefairy, glad to be on the battlefield once again.

"She sure is good at using Metronome..." noted Ned.

"I know...I heard that every time a Pokemon uses it they use a random move...though my Clefairy does seem to have relatively good control over it." agreed Lucy.

"Clefairy!" cheered the wild Pokemon.

"I wish my Pokemon could use Metronome..." noted Ned.

"Maybe you'll find a Pokemon that can someday?" inquired Lucy.

"Let's hope so..." answered Ned.

Nearby, Chris was still battling with Jake.

"Mankey, use Scratch!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt.

Mankey did so, doing some damage to Chris's Nidoran.

"Use Tackle!" ordered Chris.

Chris's Nidoran did so, tackling into Mankey. This made him very annoyed.

"Keep using Scratch!" commanded Jake.

Jake's Mankey did so, once again scratching Chris's Nidoran in the face.

"Nidoran!" exclaimed the poisonous Pokemon.

"Would you cut that out already? Use Double Kick!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris's Nidoran did so, doing much damage to Jake's Mankey...but also made him pretty angry.

"Mankey!" exclaimed the monkey Pokemon angrily.

Immediately, it started to scratch Nidoran as many times as it could in rapid succession.

"Alright...good to see you can do that now!" exclaimed Jake.

And to make matters worse for Chris, her Nidoran fainted from the attack.

"Nidoran..." murmured the poison Pokemon.

Chris sighed as she recalled her poisonous Pokemon.

"Two Pokemon left." noted the unfeminine Pokemon trainer as she pulled out another Pokeball.

Jake's Mankey nodded, though he asked if he could forget Scratch since Fury Swipes was potentially much better.

"Alright..." answered Jake.

The Pig Monkey smiled as he forget the no longer needed move.

However, Jake's Mankey was also poisoned in the process.

"Mankey..." murmured the unfortunate Pokemon.

"Let's see if you like my Beedrill." stated the unfeminine Pokemon trainer as she threw out another Pokeball.

"Beedrill!" exclaimed the poison bee Pokemon as she was sent out.

"You don't look so good Mankey...can you get another Fury Swipes in?" inquired Jake.

Jake's Mankey nodded, and proceeded to scratch the Beedrill into submission.

However, shortly afterwards, he ended up fainting from the poison.

"Darn it! Now all I have left is my starter." explained the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Is he any stronger than the last time we fought?" answered Chris.

"I think so, yeah." nodded Jake.

"Good." replied the female Pokemon trainer.

Meanwhile, Ned and Lucy were almost finished with their Pokemon battles. Both of them had been injured beforehand, so it looked like the battle wasn't going to take too long.

"Eevee, use Quick Attack!" ordered Ned.

Ned's Eevee did so, attacking Clefairy as quickly as he could...though she ultimately didn't faint.

"Clefairy, use Metronome!" exclaimed Lucy.

Clefairy did so, shaking her hands back and forth, which of course were glowing.

Sure enough, the Fairy Pokemon began to pummel Ned's Eevee into submission using her bare hands...and since Eevee was weak to Fighting-type moves...

"Eevee!" exclaimed Ned's Eevee as he fainted.

Ned promptly sighed as he returned his Eevee to his Pokeball. He had lost to Lucy again.

"Do you think I'm weak?" inquired Ned.

"No, I don't. I think you're a decent battler." answered Lucy.

"Because I think my partner thinks I'm a weakling..." noted the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Sorry to hear that...I hope that she starts treating you with respect." sympathized the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"By the way, could you do me a favor? To be honest, I was starting to get worried I wasn't going to pop into you again..." explained Ned.

"Sure..." nodded Lucy.

"You're well off, am I right?" questioned the unmasculine Pokemon trainer.

"Yes, I am. Why?" asked the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"I was just wondering...if you could give me a million Pokedollars?" inquired Ned.

"One million Pokedollars?!" exclaimed Lucy.

Just like two of her Pokemon had done during her battle with the nerdy Pokemon trainer, Lucy promptly fainted.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy with concern.

"I'll er...leave the money you won in your pocket." answered Ned, who thankfully wasn't planning on robbing Lucy.

Meanwhile, Chris was battling with Jake, who had sent out his Grimer.

"OK...I know it may be two against one...but I think you still have a chance of winning this." explained the Team Rocket Grunt.

Jake's Grimer nodded. To be honest, he was looking forward to a challenge.

"Beedrill, use Fury Attack!" ordered Chris.

Beedrill did so, striking Jake's Grimer as many times as she could.

"This one's a Poison type too, right? Use Mudslap!" commanded Jake.

The sludge Pokemon did so, tossing mud into Beedrill's eyes.

"Beedrill!" exclaimed the bee Pokemon. Oddly, despite being able to fly, Beedrills could still be hit by ground attacks.

"Use String Shot!" commanded Chris.

Beedrill did so, trying to restrain her opponent so that she could get more attacks in.

Unfortunately, Grimer was able to slither his way through it. The unfeminine Pokemon trainer promptly facepalmed.

Immediately, the Sludge Pokemon...well, started throwing sludge at the opposing Beedrill.

"Beedrill!" exclaimed the bee Pokemon. Though she was technically a poison Pokemon herself, she wasn't exactly looking forward to having sludge on her face.

"Ah, you've learned Sludge...that's nice." noted Jake.

Jake's Grimer nodded in agreement...though admittedly it wasn't too effective against Beedrills and the like.

"Beedrill, use Fury Attack!" ordered Chris.

Chris's Beedrill did so, but Jake's Grimer ducked over it.

"Darn it!" exclaimed the tomboy.

"Try using Sludge again!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Grimer did so, throwing more sludge against Chris's Beedrill. This time, the bee Pokemon fainted.

"Time to send out my starter then..." answered Chris.

Sure enough, she sent out her Jigglypuff.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed the balloon Pokemon.

"Use Pound!" commanded Chris.

Jigglypuff did so, pounding into the opposing Grimer.

"Grimer..." murmured the sludge Pokemon, who was now feeling woozy.

"Grimer, use Sludge!" exclaimed Jake.

Grimer did so, flinging nasty goo at the enemy balloon Pokemon.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed Chris's Jigglypuff, who ended up being hit in the face.

Suddenly, she snapped her fingers, causing Grimer to forget how to use the technique.

"Grimer?" inquired Jake's Grimer.

"Not good...try using Mudslap!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Grimer did so...but unfortunately he missed.

"Use Sing!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff did so, and from there it was all over, as Chris had her Jigglypuff pound into Jake's Grimer shortly afterwards, which induced fainting.

"Not again..." murmured Jake, noting that his Grimer had already lost to Jigglypuff once before.

_A few minutes later..._

"Well, looks like I won the battle...what about you, Ned?" inquired Chris.

"Er, Lucy won, but then she passed out..." answered Ned.

"Guess I'll be the one deciding who goes first by myself then..." questioned the tomboy.

"Wait, Lucy passed out?!" exclaimed Jake.

"Yeah...I asked her for a million dollars..." answered the nerd.

"But you haven't even known her that long!" bellowed the Team Rocket Grunt.

"I know...I got a little desperate to pay back my debt for Chris..." nodded the nerd sadly.

"I suppose we're going to have to try harder than that." noted Chris.

Suddenly, Jake remembered the loudspeaker that Lucy's Clefairy stole.

"I suppose I'm going to have to be the one to give this back to Officer Jenny now..." worried the grunt.

"Jigglypuff?" inquired Chris's Jigglypuff.

"What? You want to use the loudspeaker? Um, sure." answered Chris.

The balloon Pokemon did so...and sure enough, she began to sing her lullaby.

And of course, the loudspeaker only made things worse. Not only did Chris and Ned (as well as Lucy's Clefairy fall asleep), so did many people in Cerulean City.

Of course, Chris had been unaffected as she had been before. Apparently, she was made of steel or something.

"Well Jigglypuff, it looks like you just put everyone around the block to sleep." noted Chris.

"Jiggly..." murmured the balloon Pokemon sadly.

"Want to draw on their faces?" inquired the tomboy as she pulled out a marker.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed Chris's Jigglypuff in agreement as she pulled out a marker of her own.

"Alright then! Let's go!" cheered Chris.

And so the two of them set forth to draw on the citizens of Cerulean City with their markers of doodling.

_Oh dear...as before, Jigglypuff has made everyone around her fall asleep...guess Chris and Ned won't be visiting the Cerulean Gym until later..._

_And yes, in the next chapter, we'll be encountering Misty...and we'll discover something about Ned that the gym leader wants to rectify...though oddly enough it won't involve not being so attracted to girls...since you know, guys can't help it._

_So I'll be seeing you later!_


	16. Chapter 16: Making A Splash

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, Chris and Ned will be visiting the Cerulean Gym so that they can get their next badge...of course, they already did something like this in Pewter Gym...but that's just how the world of Pokemon works...you take on eight gym leaders and then head to the Pokemon League. It's always the rule._

_Well, let's see if our heroes can get their second badges, shall we? That's what you guys want, right?_

**Chapter 16: Making A Splash**

"Zzz..." slept Ned, who had fallen asleep thanks to Jigglypuff's singing.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" demanded Chris.

"What? Who's there?" inquired the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"It's time for us to get our second gym badges!" exclaimed the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"Oh, right!" answered the nerd.

Suddenly, he noticed that somebody had drawn the word Dork on his forehead.

"Oh dear...I guess your Jigglypuff got carried away. How did she draw on so many people anyway?" inquired Ned.

"I gave her a hand...like I did with you." answered Chris.

"Oh..." answered the nerd, now feeling a bit offended.

"Now hurry up and get going." demanded the tomboy.

Ned nodded as they both entered the Pokemon gym.

Unsurprisingly, the battle arena was essentially a giant swimming pool.

"I guess this really is a water-type gym." noted Chris.

"Wasn't the battle arena in Brock's Gym made out of bedrock?" inquired Ned.

"Of course it was. That's why it was a Rock-type Gym." answered the tough Pokemon trainer.

"Right..." answered the nerd.

Sure enough, Misty was standing inside the battle arena...though she wasn't the first one to greet them.

It was her sisters.

"Hi there!" exclaimed Daisy.

"Welcome to Misty's Gym!" squealed Lily.

"We hope you enjoy your stay here!" cheered Violet.

All of a sudden, Ned started to feel rather flirtacious.

"I love every single one of you! I wish I were a water-type Gym Leader!" exclaimed the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Remembering what had happened in a Pokemon center earlier, Chris realized he had not yet learned his lesson.

Suddenly, she pushed Ned right into the pool.

SPLASH!

"Aargh!" he screamed as he fell into the water.

"Still flirting with girls, are we?" asked Chris.

All of a sudden, Misty started to feel a strange sense of deja vu.

"Hmm...where have I seen this before?" inquired the water-type specialist.

However, as it turned out, Ned had a problem.

"Help me! I'm drowning!" exclaimed Ned.

"You do realize I shoved you into the shallow end of the pool, am I right?" inquired Chris.

"But I can't swim!" bellowed the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Once again I'm going to have to be your knight in shining armor then..." answered the tomboy sarcastically.

Immediately, she tossed him a floatie so that he could get out of the water.

"Thank you so much!" exclaimed the Pokemon trainer.

"But I'm the one who shoved you in there in the first place." pointed out Chris.

"Who cares?" inquired Ned as he started to shake himself off.

"So, are you the two of you both here to get a gym badge?" asked Misty.

"Yes, we are." answered Chris.

"Alright then...who would you say is the stronger out of you two?" questioned the Gym Leader.

Chris pointed to herself while Ned pointed to Chris.

"Alright then...you'll be battling with me...as for your friend, he can consult my sisters for it." explained Misty.

"Sounds good." answered the Pokemon trainer as she walked with Misty.

Realizing that he was now alone, he decided to ask him a question.

"Am I going to have to battle you three at once?" questioned Ned.

"Hmm...actually, we've got something different in mind." answered Daisy.

"We're going to teach you how to swim." explained Violet.

"What?" inquired the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"And if you do well enough, you'll get your Gym badge!" bellowed Lily.

"Really? No gym battle?" inquired Ned.

"To be honest...we're not all that good at Pokemon battling..." explained Daisy.

"We figured that being able to swim would be helpful for you as a Pokemon trainer..." answered Violet.

"Really?" inquired Ned.

"You're inevitably going to be surfing on your Pokemon, am I right?" inquired Lily.

"True..." noted the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Alright then! Here are your swim trunks!" exclaimed Daisy, handing Ned a swimsuit.

"Do I get water wings, too?" inquired the dorky Pokemon trainer.

"Of course you do!" answered Violet.

"Alright!" exclaimed Ned.

"Just try not to flirt with us too much...though admittedly a lot of other Pokemon trainers have done it in the past." answered Lily.

"OK..." nodded the unmasculine Pokemon trainer, whose cheeks began to turn red.

_Let's watch Chris battle Misty shall we?_

"So, did my friend Brock try flirting with you? I see you have his badge." answered Misty.

"Yes...in fact, he gave his badge to me for free along with my buddy here." nodded Chris.

"Why doesn't that surprise me...to be honest, I've always had to keep dragging him by the ear to keep him from flirting so much." nodded the Gym Leader.

"I'm starting to feel your pain." answered the tomboy, noting how her partner typically acted the same way around girls.

"Anyways, are you ready to battle me? I know that your encounter with Brock probably disappointed you..." answered Misty.

"You really understand me...and yes." nodded Chris.

"Alright!" exclaimed the water-type Gym Leader.

Sure enough, the referee came by...unlike the one in Brock's Gym, he was wearing a swimsuit.

"Do you guys dress up accordingly depending on the gym?" inquired Chris.

"Yes we do! Don't use any Fire-type Pokemon!" warned the referee.

"I don't have any Fire-type Pokemon..." answered the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Oh...never mind then!" nodded the coach.

"Staryu, I choose you!" exclaimed Misty.

"Staryu!" exclaimed the starfish Pokemon.

Chris immediately gave the Pokemon a scan.

"Staryu, the Star Shape Pokemon! It can regenerate any appendage it loses in battle!" bellowed Chris's Pokedex.

"That's interesting..." noted the Pokemon trainer.

Curiously enough, according to the Pokedex, Staryus did not actually have genders.

"Isn't that interesting." thought Chris.

She decided to send out her Beedrill to take out the opposing Staryu.

"Alright, Beedrill...use Fury Attack!" demanded the Pokemon trainer.

Immediately, Beedrill started to attack Staryu as fast as she could, which was pretty fast.

"Yikes...already my Staryu is taking a beating...use Water Pulse!" noted Misty.

Misty's Staryu did so, hitting Beedrill with...well, a pulse of water.

"Well, it's good to see you that you're not simply spewing out Bubbles or hitting my Pokemon with a Water Gun..." noted Chris.

"I'm not a water-type Gym Leader for nothing, you know!" answered Misty.

"Yeah, I get that." answered the tomboy.

Suddenly, Beedrill began to focus some energy.

"Oh, would you look at that...looks like my Beedrill's going to get a critical hit now!" exclaimed Chris.

"Possibly..." answered the water-type specialist, who was starting to feel a bit concerned.

"Use Recover!" ordered Misty.

Misty's Staryu did so, regenerating some of the injuries that had been inflicted on it from Beedrill earlier.

"Darn it! That's so annoying! Hit it with Fury Attack, Beedrill!" ordered Chris.

Chris's Beedrill did so, and this time, she got a critical hit.

"Staryu!" exclaimed the star-shaped Pokemon.

"This isn't looking good so far...use Tackle!" ordered Misty.

Misty's Staryu did so, knocking itself into Chris's Beedrill.

"Beedrill..." murmured Chris's Beedrill, who was now feeling exhausted.

"Use Poison Sting!" commanded Chris.

Chris's Beedrill did so, stinging Staryu and causing it to faint.

"One down, one to go." answered the tomboy.

"Let's see if you can defeat my next Pokemon! Go, Starmie!" exclaimed Misty.

"Starmie!" exclaimed the other starfish Pokemon as it was released from her Pokeball.

"I take it that this is Staryu's evolved form?" inquired Chris.

"How'd you guess?" asked Misty.

"Lucky guess." answered the tomboy sarcastically as she began to scan the opposing Pokemon with her Pokedex.

"Starmie, the Mysterious Pokemon. Its core glows with the seven colors of the rainbow." explained the Pokedex.

"Oh, would you look at that? Its core is shiny." spoke Chris.

"Starmie, use Rapid Spin!" exclaimed Misty.

Starmie did so, spinning into Beedrill as fast as it could. She unfortunately didn't dodge the attack, and she fainted.

"Way to go, Starmie!" cheered on the water-type Gym Leader.

"Well, time for me to use my starter then." answered Chris as she recalled her Beedrill.

"Go, Jigglypuff!" exclaimed Chris as she hurled her Pokeball.

Unfortunately, though her Pokeball sent out Jigglypuff nonetheless, it ended up falling into the pool.

"Jigglypuff?" inquired Jigglypuff as she was sent out. Why was she in a pool?

"Darn it! At least Pokeballs can float..." acknowledged Chris.

Misty promptly dived into the water and gave the Pokeball towards the fellow Pokemon trainer.

"Um, thanks." answered Chris. "Too bad it's soggy now..."

Fortunately for Jigglypuff, since she was a balloon Pokemon, she was able to float to the surface.

"Jigglypuff!" cheered the balloon Pokemon.

However, she had the disadvantage of being in the water where Starmie was lurking.

"Jiggly?" inquired Chris's Jigglypuff. For some strange reason, she felt that she wasn't in her element.

"Jigglypuff, use Sing!" exclaimed Chris.

Jigglypuff began to sing a song to put the Starmie to sleep...

...but it quickly dove underwater in response, so it didn't hear the song too well...

...and ultimately, it didn't fall asleep.

"Darn it! I was hoping that would work!" bellowed the Pokemon trainer.

"I'm afraid not! Use Water Pulse, Starmie!" exclaimed Misty.

Misty's Starmie did so, pelting Jigglypuff with a surprisingly concussive blast of water.

"Jigglypuff!" yelled the balloon Pokemon.

"Hmm...you wouldn't happen to be able to absorb water, could you? You are a balloon Pokemon..." noted Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded, and started using the water to swell herself up.

"Hmm?" inquired Misty.

Pretty soon, she was now far larger than before. In fact, she was pretty huge.

"Try using Pound now." answered Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff did so, pummeling into Misty's Starmie as hard as she could...which was now powerful enough to take the mystifying Pokemon down in one shot.

"Wow..." murmured Misty, impressed at Chris's unorthodox yet effective tactics.

"What? I turned my Jigglypuff into a water balloon. Is that against the rules or something?" inquired Chris.

"No it's not. I suppose you deserve this!" exclaimed Misty as she handed Chris a Cascade Badge along with a fair sum of Pokedollars.

"Thanks for actually being a challenge and not being wimpy like Brock was..." answered Chris.

"If it makes you feel any better...he's usually an effective Pokemon trainer as long as there aren't any pretty girls around." noted Misty.

"Has he tried flirting with you before?" asked Chris.

"Oddly enough, no he hasn't...maybe he doesn't like Water-type Pokemon or something?" questioned the water-type Gym Leader.

"Maybe..." answered the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"Well, have fun getting to the Vermillion Gym...the gym leader there is a lieutenant in the military." explained Misty.

"He is? Awesome!" exclaimed Chris, who all of a sudden was very much looking forward to battling him.

Misty sweatdropped.

"Sheesh...she's even more of a tomboy than I am." thought the water-type Gym Leader.

_Let's see what's happening at the same time with Ned on the shallow side of the pool..._

"Are you ready?" inquired Daisy.

"I...guess." answered Ned, who was feeling rather nervous about it all.

"Alright then! Dive into the water!" exclaimed Lily.

Ned reluctantly did so, and started thrashing about.

"Not again! I'm not sure if I'm going to make it this time!" exclaimed the nerd, who once more thought he was drowning.

"No you're not. Why do you think we got you those water wings?" inquired Violet.

"Oh, right." answered Ned.

"Now try moving your feet." explained Daisy.

Ned did so, who was now starting to rise to the surface.

"Now try moving your arms in front of you." suggested Lily.

Ned did so, who all of a sudden was starting to swim.

"I think I'm starting to learn this..." asked Ned.

"Mm-hmm...keep at it for a few minutes longer and we'll give you the badge." explained Violet.

Ned nodded as he continued to swim. Personally, he wondered if he should try sending out his Pokemon.

Eventually, he settled on his Eevee and Magikarp...but he then remembered that he had left them with the lab clothes his dad had given him.

"Can I go get some of my Pokemon?" inquired Ned.

"Hurry on back!" answered Daisy.

Sure enough, he came by a few minutes later along with two of his Pokeballs.

"Go Eevee! Go Magikarp!" exclaimed the nerdy Pokemon trainer as he threw them...as far away from the pool as he could.

"Eevee!" bellowed the evolution Pokemon.

"Magikarp!" exclaimed the fish Pokemon, who was panicking because he wasn't in water.

Ned gently put his Magikarp in the water. His Eevee on the other hand immediately dived into the pool.

"I take it you already know how to swim?" asked Ned.

His Eevee nodded.

"Eevee!" exclaimed the rabbit Pokemon.

"Alright then." answered Ned as he dived back into the pool.

Sure enough, within a few minutes or so, he had learned how to swim fairly effectively, and no longer needed the water wings.

Oddly enough, despite apparently being the weakest Pokemon in existence, his Magikarp could swim surprisingly well. Then again, it was technically still a fish.

"You know, being in the pool feels surprisingly refreshing. I'm starting to see why Misty always does it." he thought.

"Alright, you pass." explained Daisy.

"That went surprisingly quickly." noted Ned as he stepped out of the pool.

"Just try to remember it for us, OK?" asked Lily as she handed him the Cascade Badge.

"OK...can I have your phone numbers?" asked the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

The three girls all sweatdropped.

"Er...if you need us, we'll usually be in the Cerulean Gym." answered Violet.

"OK." nodded Ned as he began to recall his Pokemon.

"Magikarp..." murmured the fish Pokemon sadly as he was separated from the pool.

"Eevee!" exclaimed the evolution Pokemon as he was sent back into his Pokeball, having enjoyed his swim.

"By the way, you should try training that Magikarp." explained Daisy.

"How come?" inquired Ned.

"You'll get a pleasant surprise...though you might have trouble controlling your Magikarp afterwards." noted Violet.

"Oh...alright then." acknowledged the nerdy Pokemon trainer. Was it possibly for Magikarp to evolve into something better? Maybe he should try using his Pokedex sometime.

"See ya!" exclaimed all three of the sisters at once.

_A few minutes later..._

"So, did you get your badge?" asked Chris.

"I sure did!" exclaimed Ned.

"Good, because I don't feel like waiting for you. The next gym leader on our list is part of the military." answered the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"He's part of the what?!" exclaimed the unmasculine Pokemon trainer, who all of a sudden was feeling frightened.

"Is there anything wrong with that?" asked Chris.

"It's n-nothing! Let's head to Vermillion City! Heh heh heh!" answered Ned.

"OK..." answered the tomboy.

Sure enough, they noticed that Lucy and Jake were walking in. Apparently they had woken up from the nap.

"Did you give that loudspeaker to Officer Jenny?" asked Lucy.

"Uh, y-yeah! Heh heh!" exclaimed Jake, who got the feeling that he just narrowly avoided being arrested in the process.

"Smell you later!" shouted Chris as she and Ned left the gym.

"Gee, it looks like they're one step ahead of us. And why does she think we're so smelly?" questioned Lucy.

"For some strange reason, rivals always are. And about that...maybe it's because of my Grimer?" answered Jake.

Lucy nodded her head in agreement, though she personally wondered why.

Sure enough, Misty was busy healing her Pokemon.

"Good thing I have some Revives and some Potions." noted Misty. "I don't want to have to keep visiting Nurse Joy all the time..."

"Hi there Misty! You're the gym leader here, right?" asked Jake.

"Yes I am...though to be honest my sisters here used to hold the title." answered the water-type Gym Leader.

Daisy, Violet, and Lily all nodded their heads.

"OK then." answered Lucy.

"So, which one of you wants to battle me? If you don't feel up to doing that, you can give my sisters a hand. They're a lot more generous with Gym Badges." explained Misty.

Lucy immediately accepted her challenge...but Jake, realizing that he had lost his first gym battle (and of course didn't want it to happen again), deciding to help Misty's sisters instead.

"Alright then. Walk with me, young lady!" exclaimed Misty.

"Hooray!" squealed Lucy.

"Clefairy!" cheered Lucy's Clefairy. It was time for another gym battle.

"So, do you happen to know how to swim?" asked Daisy.

"Yes I do." answered Jake.

"Alright then..." nodded Lily.

"Could you help us clean our pool?" questioned Violet.

"I was kind of expecting a Pokemon battle with you guys..." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Oh...about that, we're not really much of a Pokemon trainer, actually." explained Daisy.

"You're not?" asked Jake.

"Yeah...whenever we participate in a Pokemon battle, we usually end up losing..." noted Violet.

"A trainer by the name of Gary Oak came by and defeated us all with ease..." explained Lily.

"That's unfortunate." answered Jake.

"I suppose if you want you can try battling our Seel for the badge...he actually likes participating in Pokemon battles." explained Daisy.

"Just try to go easy on it." answered Violet.

"Alright then, I'll send out my Rattata." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt as he threw his Pokeball.

"Rattata!" exclaimed the rodent Pokemon.

"Seel?" inquired the seal Pokemon.

Jake gave the water and ice Pokemon a scan.

"Seel, the Sea Lion Pokemon. It loves freezing cold conditions, and can use its horn to bash through ice." explained Jake's Pokedex.

"I take it that's why you like swimming in that pool, then?" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt.

Seel promptly started slapping his fins together.

"I'll take that as a yes." answered the Pokemon trainer.

Seel immediately hit Rattata with a rather cold gust of wind.

"Rattata..." murmured the rodent Pokemon, whose teeth were now chattering.

"Good thing you have fur to keep you warm." noted Jake.

Jake's Rattata nodded his head in agreement.

"Try using Bite!" ordered the male Pokemon trainer.

The rodent Pokemon did so, biting into the sea lion Pokemon.

"Seel!" exclaimed the sea lion Pokemon.

"I'm starting to wonder if we should make him surrender..." questioned Lily.

"Let's see how the battle goes." answered Daisy.

Immediately, Seel headbutted into Rattata, and he ended up fainting.

"Darn it, I lost!" exclaimed Jake.

"Wow! He actually won!" bellowed Lily.

"Here is your badge." answered Violet.

"But I lost the battle!" exclaimed the confused Pokemon trainer.

"Was that the strongest Pokemon on your team?" questioned Daisy.

"No, he wasn't." answered Jake.

"Then you listened to our instructions." answered Lily as she handed him a Cascade Badge.

"Six to go, I guess...I suppose it's just as well...did I mention that my starter Pokemon is a Grimer?" acknowledged the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Oh...well, if you sent him out, we'd have a lot of pool cleaning to do, now would we?" inquired Daisy.

Lily and Daisy both nodded in agreement.

"All the more reason

Meanwhile, Lucy was having her second Gym Leader battle.

"Did Brock try to flirt with you?" questioned Misty.

"No, he didn't, why?" asked Lucy.

"Just wondering...he always seems to have poor impulse control these days." answered the gym leader.

"Sorry to hear that." acknowledged the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Anyways...go Staryu!" exclaimed Misty as she tossed a Pokeball.

"Staryu!" bellowed the star shape Pokemon.

"Go, Butterfree!" shouted Lucy as she tossed a Pokeball of her own.

"Butterfree!" exclaimed the butterfly Pokemon as she was sent out of her Pokeball.

"Staryu, use Tackle!" ordered Misty.

Staryu did so, tackling into the flying Pokemon.

"Butterfree!" bellowed the bug Pokemon as she was hit.

"Use Sleep Powder!" ordered Lucy.

Butterfree did so...but unfortunately, since the battle was taking place in a pool, the powder simply ended up being washed away.

"Oh no..." thought the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Use Water Pulse!" ordered Misty.

Misty's Staryu did so, blasting the unfortunate butterfly Pokemon with water, who was now feeling rather weak.

"This doesn't look too good...use Confusion." murmured Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree did so, harming Misty's Staryu...but unfortunately it was still able to fight.

"Use Water Pulse again!" ordered Misty.

Misty's Staryu did so...and this time the butterfly Pokemon fainted.

"This is off to a bad start." acknowledged the wealthy Pokemon trainer as she recalled her bug Pokemon.

Lucy's Clefairy detached herself from her back.

"Your starter Pokemon doesn't like Pokeballs, huh?" questioned Misty.

"Nope, she does not." answered Lucy.

"Funny, a friend of mine has a Pikachu that doesn't like being stored in a Pokeball either." answered the gym leader.

"Really?" inquired Lucy.

"Yeah...what a coincidence...anyways, I'll let your Clefairy have the first shot, since she's your last Pokemon." explained Misty.

"Alright...use Metronome, Clefairy!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy did so...and ended up taking down the opposing Staryu with a vicious thunder strike.

"Staryu..." murmured the star shape Pokemon, whose core was now flickering.

"Do Staryus do that whenever they faint? I don't think that they have eyes..." answered Lucy.

"Yes, they do." answered Misty as she returned her Staryu. "Go Starmie!"

Sure enough, Misty flung another Pokeball, and this time...it was a much more powerful starfish Pokemon.

"Starmie!" exclaimed the star shape Pokemon.

"Use Water Pulse!" ordered Misty.

Misty's Starmie did so, pummeling Lucy's Clefairy with a water attack.

"Clefairy..." murmured the fairy Pokemon. All of a sudden, she was feeling pretty dizzy.

"Oh no! You're confused!" exclaimed Lucy. "Try using Metronome!"

Lucy's Clefairy did so, but since she was feeling dizzy, she couldn't focus the move too well...and she ended up simply splashing in the water, which did nothing.

"Use Rapid Spin!" ordered Misty.

Misty's Starmie did as its mistress told her to do, spinning into Clefairy and making her even more confused.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy thankfully was able to get a working attack in this time...though unfortunately it wasn't the type of move she had intended considering her opponent was a Psychic-type.

Immediately, she started focusing for a massive punch...

...but Starmie cut her off.

"Use Water Pulse again!" exclaimed Misty.

"Starmie!" bellowed the mysterious Pokemon as she did so.

Not only did this break Clefairy's concentration...this was enough to make her faint. Lucy sighed realizing what this meant.

"Well, you made a good effort. If you want you can try battling my sisters for a Cascade Badge instead like your friend did." answered Misty.

"No thanks! I'm sure I'll be able to beat you next time!" exclaimed Lucy, who still was feeling fairly cheerful.

"That's a pretty good answer. Don't give up!" answered Misty.

Lucy nodded.

Realizing that Lucy did not have a Cascade Badge, Jake wondered why that she still had a smile on her face.

"I don't get it...what are you so happy about? You lost the gym battle!" inquired Jake.

"I just figured that I could try again next time...there are lots of Pokemon trainers I can battle in the future, am I right?" asked Lucy.

"Yeah..." murmured Jake. Oddly enough, he didn't feel the same way when he lost to Brock...he in fact had been rather pessimistic about it.

He was in fact rather thankfully that he had encountered that wild Mankey to help him defeat the rock-type Gym Leader...even if he did end up stealing his hat.

"So...should we search for more Pokemon?" inquired Lucy.

"I suppose we can try the Nugget Bridge challenge." answered Jake.

Oddly enough, he began to think of something that discouraged him from participating in that particular challenge...though he couldn't quite remember what.

"Alright then! Let's go!" exclaimed the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

Jake nodded. He personally wished that he could be more like Lucy...though considering his troubled past, that wouldn't be too easy.

Nonetheless, he agreed to help her with the challenge.

"I heard that we get a pretty decent prize for completing it..." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Sounds good." nodded Lucy.

And so the two of them set forth to obtain the challenge.

_Oh dear...Lucy lost her second gym battle...kind of like what happened to poor Jake on his first gym leader battle...though unlike him, she was rather optimistic about it..._

_Unfortunately for the two of them, they're going to have a chance encounter with yet another Team Rocket Grunt, whose interesting in recruiting some followers to join him in Team Rocket's cause of making trouble in Kanto._

_Will they able to defeat him? And what will come of Chris and Ned? And will any more Pokemon be caught?_

_Tune in next time!_


	17. Chapter 17: The Nugget Bridge

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, Lucy and Jake are going to try the Nugget Bridge challenge...you know, with five different Pokemon trainers and all to help Lucy defeat Misty..._

_Two of her Pokemon will be evolving this time...oh, and one of the four characters in my story will be getting one of the Kanto starter Pokemon...does it sound good?_

**Chapter 17: The Nugget Bridge**

After finally returning that loudspeaker to Officer Jenny (and a nap), Lucy was rather eager to start the Nugget Bridge challenge to get her reward...even though she was technically already rich.

"I guess I'll wait for you on the other side so that I can cheer you on if you win." said Jake as he went to the other side of the bridge.

Lucy nodded her head in agreement. Hopefully she would be able to win.

"So, are you ready for the Nugget Bridge challenge?" asked a nearby bug catcher.

"As a matter of fact, I am." answered Lucy.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed her Clefairy in agreement. She was looking forward for a challenge...though admittedly she had lost her last battle.

"Alright then...let's get to it!" exclaimed the bug user.

Immediately, the bug catcher sent out his Caterpie.

"Looks like this is a job for Pidgey then." noted the female Pokemon trainer as she tossed a Pokeball.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed the bird Pokemon.

"Caterpie, use String Shot!" ordered the bug catcher.

Caterpie did so, wrapping Pidgey up in silk.

"Pidgey, use Gust!" exclaimed Lucy.

Unfortunately for Caterpie, Pidgey was able to blow away the string fairly easily...as well as Caterpie himself, who fainted very quickly.

"Darn it! I need to start evolving my Pokemon already..." said the bug catcher as he recalled his Pokemon.

"At least I have three Pokemon left." he continued as he tossed another Pokeball.

"Weedle!" exclaimed the poisonous bug Pokemon.

"This might take a while..." thought Lucy.

However, she was given a chance to switch Pokemon.

"Did you know that if you send out a Pokemon and then immediately switch it out, your Pokemon will still gain experience?" inquired the bug catcher.

"Really?" questioned Lucy. "I've been trying to raise my Abra..."

She decided to temporarily switch out her Pidgey for an Abra, and then back again.

"Abra?" inquired the Abra, wondering why he was being recalled so quickly.

"I'm trying out a new strategy." explained Lucy.

"Pidgey?" asked Lucy's Pidgey, curious as to why she was being sent out once again so quickly as well.

Of course, this gave Weedle an opportunity to attack.

"Weedle, use Poison Sting!" exclaimed the bug catcher.

Fortunately, he missed.

"Pidgey, use Gust!" ordered Lucy.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed Pidgey as she began to blow the bug Pokemon again.

Like Caterpie, Weedle couldn't handle a flying attack due to being a rather weak bug Pokemon, and fainted as well.

"Darn it! I'm not doing so well here..." noted the bug catcher. "Well, at least I have an evolved Pokemon to send out now."

Sure enough, the bug catcher sent out his Metapod.

"Metapod!" exclaimed the cocoon Pokemon.

As before, Lucy sent out her Abra and then her Pidgey again.

Though this gave the bug catcher a chance to attack, this didn't do him much good.

"Use Harden!" ordered the Pokemon trainer.

The bug catcher's Metapod did so, hardening himself to avoid taking any more damage.

"Use Gust!" commanded Lucy yet again.

Lucy's Pidgey did so, blowing Metapod away. Unlike Caterpie and Weedle, this wasn't quite enough to make him faint however.

"Use Tackle!" ordered the bug catcher.

The bug catcher's Metapod did so, pummeling into Pidgey, though she wasn't hurt very much.

"Pidgey, time for yet another round of wind." explained Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey did so...and this time, Metapod fainted.

"Oh man! I only have one Pokemon left now!" exclaimed the bug catcher as he sent out his Kakuna.

"Kakuna!" exclaimed the poisonous cocoon Pokemon.

"I guess my Pidgey's wiping out your entire team..." said Lucy as she switched out her Pidgey for her Abra.

"I'm afraid so! Why is she so strong?" inquired the bug catcher.

"Well, you are using Bug types against it...maybe you need to make a more balanced Pokemon team?" asked Lucy.

"But I love bug types!" exclaimed the bug-loving Pokemon trainer.

"That doesn't mean all the Pokemon in your team have to be bugs." noted the female Pokemon trainer.

The bug catcher sighed.

"Pidgey, use Gust!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey did so...and since it was a critical hit this time, the bug catcher's Kakuna was one-shotted.

"Kakuna!" exclaimed the cocoon Pokemon as he fainted.

"Man...I lost horribly." noted the bug catcher as he handed Lucy a few Pokedollars.

"So, do I get the nugget?" asked Lucy.

"Actually, you're going to have to defeat four other Pokemon trainers before you can get your reward." explained the bug user.

"Oh..." acknowledged the female Pokemon trainer.

"Though if you do as well against my buddies as you did against me...I don't think this challenge is going to take you very long." answered the bug catcher.

"Alright then." nodded Lucy.

"Anyways, I've done my best, so I have no regrets!" cheered the bug-type Pokemon trainer.

"What about that time you played with that Beedrill nest?" inquired a nearby lass.

The bug catcher sweatdropped.

"Are you number two?" inquired Lucy.

"Yes, I am. You ready to fight me?" asked the lass.

Lucy nodded.

"Alright then, go Pidgey!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

"Funny...I have a Pidgey too." noted the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Let's see whose is better!" answered the lass.

"OK then." nodded Lucy.

The lass sent out her Pidgey while Lucy sent out...her Abra.

"Abra?" inquired Lucy's Abra. He thought that Lucy was going to send out her Pidgey.

"Where's the Pidgey? I know you used her in that battle a few minutes ago..." pointed out the lass.

"I'm raising my Abra." explained Lucy.

"Oh. Well, switch him out then." ordered the lass.

The female Pokemon trainer did so, and sent out her Pidgey.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed the young bird Pokemon.

"Use Gust!" both Pokemon trainers exclaimed.

The two bird Pokemon did so, sending each other flying back a few feet.

"So far it looks like we're at a stalemate." spoke the lass.

Suddenly, Lucy's Pidgey started to flap her wings once again...however, instead of harming her fellow Pidgey, it did something else entirely.

"Pidgey!" exclaimed the lass's Pidgey as she was returned to her Pokeball.

"What's going on?" inquired the lass.

Suddenly, the lass's Oddish was sent out of her Pokeball instead.

"Oddish?" inquired the confused grass Pokemon.

Lucy gave her unexpected new enemy a scan.

"Oddish, the Weed Pokemon. It buries itself in the daytime and scatters seeds at night." read the Pokedex.

"Funny, it seems to enjoy being out in the sunlight to me..." questioned the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"I don't get it...why did my Oddish get forced out?" asked the lass.

"Maybe it had something to do with that wind my Pidgey blew earlier?" questioned Lucy.

Sure enough, Lucy's Pidgey had apparently learned a new move...because it was having a hard time remembering its old ones.

"Excuse me for a moment while I make Pidgey forget one of her moves..." nodded Lucy.

A few seconds later, Pidgey was ready to battle again.

"I wonder why Pokemon can only learn four moves?" questioned the lass.

"Your guess is as good as mine." answered the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Pidgey, use Gust!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey was starting to wonder if she was going to run out of PP for that particular technique since her owner was making her use it so much.

Nonetheless, it was as effective as ever, since Oddish was a Grass-type.

"Oddish!" exclaimed the plant Pokemon as it was struck.

"You need to switch out now!" ordered the lass as she sent the plant Pokemon back into her Pokeball.

As before, she sent out her Pidgey...but in the process, she gave Lucy's Pidgey an opportunity to attack the fellow tiny bird Pokemon.

"I take it you know what I want you do by now?" questioned Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey nodded, and began to blow the opposing Pidgey away.

"Use Tackle!" ordered the lass.

"Use Quick Attack!" demanded Lucy.

Of course, Lucy's Pidgey got to go first, much to the lass's disappointment.

"I take it you made it forget how to use Tackle?" she inquired.

Lucy nodded.

"What was that move you learned again?" inquired the well-off Pokemon trainer.

"I think it's called Whirlwind." answered the lass.

"OK...use Whirlwind!" ordered Lucy.

The bird Pokemon did so, once again blowing away the enemy Pidgey and replacing with a different Pokemon.

"Bellsprout?" inquired the grass Pokemon as she was sent out.

Lucy gave her new opponent a scan.

"Bellsprout, the Flower Pokemon. It has a tendency to trap and eat bugs." explained the Pokedex.

"I better keep my Butterfree away from it..." thought the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"You're using another grass-type Pokemon?"

"Unfortunately, none of us really have a well-balanced team..." answered the lass.

"Sorry to hear that." sympathized Lucy.

"Use Vine Whip!" ordered the lass.

The lass's Bellsprout did so, whipping Pidgey...but unfortunately for Bellsprout it wasn't very effective.

Pidgey instinctively used Gust on the grass Pokemon to make her faint.

The opposing Pokemon trainer promptly sighed as she recalled her fainted Pokemon.

"We can still do this, Pidgey!" exclaimed the lass as she sent out her Pidgey.

"Use Quick Attack!" ordered Lucy.

Pidgey did so...and the opposing Pidgey fainted.

The lass sighed, realizing that her only opponent left was now her Oddish...which of course was weak against Flying-types.

"Go, Oddish! You can still do this...I think." answered the lass as she sent out her plant pokemon.

"Oddish..." murmured the grass Pokemon as she was sent out. Personally, she wasn't so sure about that.

Her question was answered when Pidgey fired yet another gust and she fainted.

"Darn it! You beat me too...at least I did my best...and I have no regrets." noted the lass.

"What about that time you stuck your hand in your Bellsprout's mouth?" inquired the youngster.

The lass sweatdropped.

"Are you number three?" asked Lucy.

"Yes, I am." answered the youngster.

"Let's go, then." nodded the female Pokemon trainer.

Suddenly, she noticed that her Pidgey seemed to be rather tired.

"Oh dear...I guess these battles have been wearing you down, huh?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgey nodded.

"Alright then, back into the Pokeball you go." answered the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Pidgey..." murmured the content Pidgey in relief as she was sent back inside.

"Take a good rest." nodded Lucy.

"What Pokemon are you going to use to fight me, then?" asked the youngster.

"Well, you'll find out after I send out my Abra." answered the female Pokemon trainer as she threw a Pokeball.

"Abra!" exclaimed the psi Pokemon, looking forward to getting more free experience...though admittedly he didn't like making his comrades fight in his place.

"Go, Sandshrew!" exclaimed the young Pokemon trainer.

"Sandshrew!" bellowed the ground Pokemon as he was sent out of his Pokeball.

"Shame I still don't have a Water-type..." murmured Lucy as she recalled her Abra.

"Go Butterfree!"

Sure enough, Lucy tossed another Pokeball...this time of course, it was her Butterfree.

"Butterfree!" yelled the butterfly Pokemon.

"Sandshrew, use Sand-Attack!" ordered the youngster.

Sandshrew did so, kicking sand into Butterfree's eyes.

"You OK there, Butterfree?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree nodded, though she was having a bit harder time seeing.

"Good, use Confusion!" ordered the female Pokemon trainer.

The butterfly Pokemon did so, causing the youngster's Sandshrew to get confused.

"Uh-oh..." thought the youngster.

"Sandshrew, use Scratch!"

Sandshrew did so, but ended up scratching himself instead.

"Maybe I should switch my Pokemon out." noted the Pokemon trainer.

"Try using Confusion again!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree did so, hitting Sandshrew once again.

"Use Scratch! And this time try not to hit yourself..." answered the youngster.

This time, the youngster's Sandshrew did not strike himself, and he hit Butterfree instead.

"Alright then...use Confusion again!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree did so, striking the youngster's Sandshrew with another psychic attack. This time, Sandshrew went down.

"Darn it! Well, now to send out my Ekans." said the youngster as he recalled his fainted Pokemon and pulled out another Pokeball.

"Go, Ekans!" exclaimed the Pokemon Trainer.

"Use Confusion!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree did so, but this time she missed. Apparently the sand that Sandshrew had kicked in her eyes earlier had finally taken effect.

"Darn it." thought the female Pokemon trainer.

"Alright! Ekans, use Wrap!" exclaimed the youngster.

Ekans did so, wrapping himself around the opposing Butterfree.

However, the youngster's plan had a flaw...since the opposing snake Pokemon was wrapped around his enemy, he wasn't exactly in a position to dodge attacks.

"Try using Confusion again...your opponent should have a hard time dodging now." answered Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree nodded, and this time was Ekans was hit...and this time it was a critical...and wouldn't you know it, the youngster's Ekans got one-shotted.

"You're cutting through us like butter!" exclaimed the youngster.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better...your comrades wore my Pidgey down...and I think my Butterfree's feeling a little tired too." noted Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree nodded in agreement.

"Well, I did my best, and I have no regrets!" exclaimed the youngster.

"What about the time you touched a Charmander's tail flame?" questioned a nearby lass.

"That was years ago!" bellowed the Pokemon trainer.

"Well, two to go." noted Lucy.

The second lass on the bridge nodded.

"I choose you, Nidoran!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

Sure enough, a Nidoran came out of the Pokeball...this particular one was male.

"Go, Abra!" bellowed Lucy as she hurled Abra's Pokeball.

She then went to recall her Pokemon a few seconds later...

...but for some strange reason, Abra refused to be returned to her this time.

"Er, why are you staying on the battlefield?" questioned Lucy.

As it turned out, Abra wanted to start fighting his own battles for a change...and he was starting to feel much stronger.

"Abra..." murmured the psi Pokemon.

Suddenly, he began to evolve.

"I guess my strategy worked." said Lucy.

Sure enough...Abra had evolved...into a Kadabra.

"Do you have an offensive technique now?" questioned the female Pokemon Trainer.

Lucy's Kadabra nodded...and struck the opposing Nidoran with a Confusion.

"Nidoran!" exclaimed the masculine Pokemon. As it turned out, poison types weren't too fond of psychics.

"Ah good...now you can use Confusion just like your Butterfree..." noted Lucy as she gave her new Pokemon a scan.

"Kadabra, the Psi Pokemon. Its brain cells all work in unison to create alpha waves." informed Lucy's Pokedex.

Oddly enough, Kadabra was not nearly as sleepy as his preevolution was. In fact, he was wide awake.

Also for some strange reason, he now had a spoon.

"Where did you get that?" questioned Lucy.

Lucy's Kadabra shrugged. He wasn't quite sure of that either...even though he was technically psychic.

"Your Pokemon may have evolved, but I'll still be able to beat you! Use Double Kick!" ordered the lass.

The lass's Nidoran did so...but unfortunately since he was dealing with a psychic type, this didn't do too much.

"Why didn't you use a Poison-type attack?" questioned Lucy.

The lass promptly sighed. She needed to rework her strategy.

"Use Confusion again, I guess." answered the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

Kadabra nodded, and hit the lass's Nidoran with another Confusion. This time, he ended up being confused.

"Fight it!" exclaimed the lass.

Unfortunately, the lass's Nidoran did not, and he knocked himself out.

The lass sighed as she returned her Pokemon to his Pokeball.

"Go, Nidoran!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

"Didn't you already send out a Nidoran?" questioned Lucy.

"Well, this one's a girl!" answered the lass as she tossed a second Pokeball.

"Oh." realized the female Pokemon trainer.

"Nidoran!" exclaimed the feminine Pokemon as she was released from her Pokeball.

"I suppose we should try using Confusion again." explained Lucy.

Lucy's Kadabra nodded as he hit the female Nidoran with another Confusion.

"Use Poison Sting!" ordered the lass.

The lass's Nidoran did so, stinging Kadabra...and making him poisoned.

"Oh man..." thought Lucy.

"Kadabra..." murmured Lucy's Kadabra, who all of a sudden wasn't feeling too well.

"Use Confusion before the poison spreads!" ordered Lucy.

Once again, the psi Pokemon used Confusion to make the opponent faint...and that was the lass's last Pokemon this time.

Lucy happily recalled her Pokemon back to his Pokeball.

"There's only one of us left now." answered the lass.

"Good to know." nodded Lucy.

"I did my best, and I have no regrets." nodded the female Pokemon trainer.

"What about the time you spilled fruit punch on your dress?" inquired a nearby camper.

"Why did I have to be so clumsy?!" exclaimed the lass.

"So, you're the last Pokemon trainer I have to beat?" asked Lucy.

"Yes...though to be honest, I'm not actually the one that has the Nugget...that guy standing a few feet from me has it." answered the camper.

"Oh...he'll give me the nugget if I defeat you then, right?" asked Lucy.

"Yes, he will." nodded the camper. "To be honest, I think you'll probably be able to win by now...you did so well against my buddies."

"Yes, I did..." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Also, I only have one Pokemon unfortunately...I really need to catch more of them." explained the camper.

"Is he your starter?" questioned Lucy.

"Yes, he is. Go, Mankey!" exclaimed the male Pokemon trainer as he sent out his monkey Pokemon.

"Mankey!" bellowed the monkey Pokemon.

"Go, Kadabra!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Kadabra!" bellowed the psi Pokemon. It was nice to actually get to participate in battles for a change...he was starting to get worried that his female Pokemon trainer would find him useless.

Then again, she never really did find a Pokemon to be useless, considering the fact that she caught him when he was still an Abra.

"Congratulations on your Pokemon evolving...though admittedly this puts me at a disadvantage." cheered the camper.

"Is your Mankey capable of evolving?" questioned the female Pokemon trainer.

"Yes...although I don't think he's ready for that yet." answered the camper.

"Oh...that's kind of sad..." sympathized Lucy.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to evolve him eventually. But for now...Mankey, use Karate Chop!" ordered the male Pokemon trainer.

The camper's Mankey did so, chopping into Kadabra...which unfortunately for him wasn't ver effective.

"Mankey..." thought the pig monkey Pokemon sadly.

"Oh dear...fighting types don't do so well against psychic types, do they?" inquired Lucy.

"Nope, they don't." nodded the camper.

"Use Confusion!" bellowed the female Pokemon trainer.

Lucy's Kadabra did so, which was super effective.

"Mankey!" exclaimed the monkey Pokemon, who felt that his brain had been french-fried.

"Mankey, use Scratch!" commanded the camper.

Mankey did so, scratching into Lucy's Kadabra.

Suddenly, Kadabra twisted his spoon in front of Mankey, causing him to lose accuracy.

"Mankey..." murmured the fighting Pokemon, who was feeling rather bad.

"Use Scratch again!" exclaimed the camper.

Mankey did so, but he missed.

"Give him another Confusion!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Kadabra did so...and Mankey fainted.

"Mankey..." murmured the fainted monkey Pokemon.

Unfortunately for Lucy, her Kadabra fainted also due to the poison he had received earlier.

"Kadabra..." murmured the barely conscious psychic Pokemon.

"Darn it! Oh well..." thought the female Pokemon trainer.

"Congratulations, you've won!" exclaimed the camper as he recalled his starter.

"So I get my Nugget now?" inquired Lucy.

"Yes...I did my best and I have no regrets...except for the time I made my Mankey angry." answered the trainer.

Sure enough, Jake was there to applaud her for defeating all five Pokemon trainers.

"Congratulations, Lucy!" cheered the Team Rocket Grunt. Hopefully now she would be able to defeat Misty after the fiasco that had happened earlier.

Sure enough, the man standing at the end of the bridge was there to congratulate her as well.

"Good job defeating all five Pokemon trainers! Here is your Nugget!" he exclaimed.

Lucy happily accepted her prize...though since she was already rich she wondered if she could give it to Jake.

"By the way, how would you like to join Team Rocket?" inquired the man.

"What?" exclaimed Lucy.

Jake promptly sweatdropped.

"You're the most powerful trainer we've seen in a quite a while! We'd be honored if you'd join us!" exclaimed the disguised Team Rocket Grunt.

"I would never join Team Rocket! They're a bunch of criminals!" bellowed Lucy.

"Clefairy!" bellowed Lucy's Clefairy in agreement.

"Oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please!" begged the Team Rocket Grunt.

"No." answered Lucy.

"Can I at least challenge you to a Pokemon battle?" inquired the grunt.

"Fine..." nodded the wealthy girl.

"You first." spoke the evil Pokemon trainer.

Lucy decided to send out her Pidgey.

"Pidgey!" bellowed the bird Pokemon.

"Using a bird Pokemon? Big mistake! Go Ekans!" exclaimed the criminal.

"Ekans!" screeched the snake Pokemon.

"This doesn't look good...maybe I should recall it o-

Lucy was then interrupted when the Team Rocket Grunt ordered his Ekans to wrap the opposing Pidgey.

"Gotcha! Now there's no escape for your Pokemon! She's doomed!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt.

"You are a sad, strange little man." answered Jake.

"What are you talking about?" questioned the Pokemon criminal obliviously.

"What am I going to do?!" exclaimed Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy began to scratch her head. How was Lucy's Pidgey going to get out of this?

"Pidgey!" bellowed the bird Pokemon.

"Hahahahahaha!" laughed the evil Pokemon trainer.

However, as it turns out, Pidgey wasn't going down without a fight. Suddenly, she began to glow.

"Huh?" questioned Lucy.

"Hmm?" asked the Team Rocket Grunt.

Suddenly, Pidgey evolved into Pidgeotto.

"Looks like my bird Pokemon's growing up." thought Lucy.

With her new-found strength, she was able to break free from the snake Pokemon's grasp.

"Ekans!" bellowed the poison Pokemon in shock.

Jake decided to give Lucy's new Pidgeotto a scan.

"Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokemon. It is very territorial, and will fiercely peck at any intruder." explained Jake's Pokedex.

"Guess it isn't a tiny bird anymore." noted Jake.

"Use Quick Attack!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgeotto did so, pummeling into the opposing Ekans...knocking him out in one hit.

"How can this be happening?!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt.

"She sure has gotten strong, hasn't she?" thought Lucy.

The Team Rocket Grunt recalled his snake Pokemon and sent out his Zubat. Lucy responded by recalling her Pidgeotto.

"I guess I should give you some time to shine, Clefairy...to be honest, I don't think I actually used you during the Nugget Bridge challenge." noted Lucy.

"Clefairy." nodded the Fairy Pokemon. It was nice to actually get to participate in a Pokemon battle for a change. Going without one for too long typically made Pokemon feel disappointed.

"Zubat, use Supersonic!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt.

Zubat did so, making Clefairy feel confused.

"Not again...use Metronome." ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy did so...but unfortunately she ended up using Splash again.

"Darn it." thought the female Pokemon trainer.

"Your Clefairy is pathetic! I'm starting to wonder if I should even give it to my boss. Use Bite!" questioned the Team Rocket Grunt.

The Team Rocket Grunt's Zubat did so, biting into the enemy Clefairy.

"Use Metronome again...and try not to use Splash this time." commanded Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy did so...and this time, she did a tad bit better. She started chucking stones at the enemy Zubat.

"Zubat!" exclaimed the bat Pokemon. Apparently, he didn't enjoy that too much. Of course, he was a flying type.

"That's a bit better...are you developing resistance to confusion now?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy shrugged. She supposed she could be...which was rather nice since being confused interfered with her concentration on her Metronome technique.

Suddenly, she snapped out of confusion.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy in celebration.

"Use Pound!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy did so, pummeling into the enemy Zubat and sending him down for the count.

"Aaugh! Well, I definitely think you should join Team Rocket now." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"I'm still not going to." answered Lucy.

Jake personally wondered if he should quit working for Team Rocket after seeing how crazy one of his comrades was. Of course, he had already met Jessie and James...and of course their talking Meowth.

"But with your help, we can take over the world! Please reconsider!" demanded the Pokemon criminal.

"What's this about joining Team Rocket?!" exclaimed a nearby voice.

The Team Rocket Grunt looked around, and his face suddenly turned white. It was Officer Jenny.

"Um, this isn't what it looks like!" exclaimed the Pokemon criminal.

Officer Jenny promptly stuck handcuffs on the criminal's wrists.

"Off to prison you go." answered the police officer.

"Aw, man! I was sure I would get someone to join Team Rocket eventually." thought the Pokemon criminal.

"Keep dreaming, buddy." replied Officer Jenny as she took the Team Rocket Grunt away.

The five nearby Pokemon trainers looked rather confused.

"Who would have thought that he was a Team Rocket Grunt this whole time?" questioned the youngster.

"That explains why he kept mumbling about world domination." answered the camper.

"I want my mommy." murmured one of the two lasses.

"I want my bug Pokemon!" exclaimed the bug catcher.

"I want to skedaddle!" bellowed the other lass.

"Well, back to Cerulean Gym I go." spoke Lucy as she went to Cerulean City.

"Should I cheer you on?" questioned Jake.

"I think you should try catching more Pokemon for what's up ahead, but thank you." answered Lucy.

"Alright then." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt as he went to do so.

_Elsewhere on Route 24..._

"So, you learned how to swim, huh? Guess you're not quite so wimpy anymore." answered Chris.

"Thanks...I think." nodded Ned.

"Can you guys help me with something?" inquired a nearby Pokemon trainer.

"What's the problem?" asked Ned.

"It's my Charmander! He's been lying on this rock, and he won't go anywhere!" exclaimed the unfortunate Pokemon trainer.

Sure enough, the Pokemon trainer's starter Pokemon was lying on a rock...and he didn't seem interesting to listening to him.

"Why can't you just recall him into his Pokeball, you little baby?" inquired Chris.

"I'm not a baby! My name is Jerry...and he keeps batting it back to me!" exclaimed Jerry.

"Why is he not listening to you anyway?" questioned Ned.

_Jerry was eagerly enjoying his swim in the nearby lake. However, his Charmander wasn't interested in joining him._

_"C'mon! The water's great!" he exclaimed._

_"Charmander..." murmured the salamander Pokemon. He got the feeling that if he tried going for a swim, his tail would probably go out...and no Charmander or their evolutions wanted that._

_"Fine then! You're going in whether you like it or not!" bellowed Jerry, shoving his starter Pokemon into the water._

_"Charmander!" bellowed the unfortunate fire Pokemon as he fell into the lake._

_Not too long later, he decided to battle a nearby hiker._

_"Go, Onix!" exclaimed the hiker as he sent out his Onix._

_"This Rock Pokemon's no match for us! Go, Charmander!" bellowed Jerry as he sent out his Fire Pokemon._

_Jerry's Charmander cowered in fear. There was no way he was going to be able to win this fight._

_"Charmander, don't be such a coward! Fight for me!" demanded the Pokemon trainer, shoving Charmander towards the Onix._

_"Charmander!" screamed the starter Pokemon._

_And just a few minutes later, he sent him out again against a fisherman._

_"Go, Gyarados!" he bellowed._

_"Gyarados!" exclaimed the giant water Pokemon._

_"Your fishes are going to lose! Charmander, let's get them!" bellowed Jerry as he sent out his Charmander._

_"Charmander..." murmured the starter Pokemon. Why was his trainer treating him like this?_

_"Don't be a baby! Fight like a man!" demanded the Pokemon trainer as he once again pushed Charmander._

"He's just a tremendous jerk that hates listening, I guess." answered Jerry.

"Charmander..." murmured Jerry's Charmander, feeling that his trainer was being a hypocrite.

"Maybe he wants a new Pokemon trainer?" questioned Chris.

"Why would he want that? We're the best friends in the whole world!" exclaimed the Pokemon trainer.

"Charmander..." murmured the fire Pokemon. Somehow, he got the feeling that wasn't true.

"Let's prove it then...how would you like to be my Pokemon buddy? I'll let you fight Pokemon that you have a type advantage against...like those grass Pokemon for instance." spoke Chris.

Charmander's tail promptly flared up. He looked forward to the sound of that...and nobody could be worse than his old Pokemon trainer.

Suddenly, he tapped the Pokeball Jerry had kept him in, causing him to be enveloped in a blue light.

"What! No! Don't release yourself!" exclaimed the Pokemon trainer.

Jerry's former Charmander ignored him as he went into Chris's Pokeball.

Ned gave Chris's new Charmander a scan.

"Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. It loves hot places! But if its tail goes out, it will kick the bucket!" bellowed Chris's Pokedex.

"I can't believe it...my starter Pokemon has left me...oh well, I'll just find another Pokemon!" exclaimed Jerry as he ran away.

"Sheesh...he didn't care about his starter Pokemon after all, did he?" questioned Ned.

"I guess not." answered Chris as she sent out her new Charmander. "Let's go barbecue some Oddish and Bellsprout, shall we?"

"Charmander!" cheered Chris's new Charmander in agreement.

"Just try not to set too many things on fire." warned Ned.

Chris's Charmander nodded in agreement. Wouldn't want the Squirtle Squad to have to be involved.

And so Chris set forth to train her new Pokemon.

_Well, this has been the longest chapter so far...I hope you enjoyed it...oh, and don't treat your Pokemon like Jerry did...he's probably friends with Damien._

_In the next chapter, Lucy will be rematching Misty...and two more Pokemon will be captured._

_See you later!_


	18. Chapter 18: Pay Your Bills

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, Lucy's going to rematch Misty...will she be more successful this time? And is anyone else going to catch more Pokemon?_

**Chapter 18: Pay Your Bills**

Lucy once again stepped into Misty's Gym, ready to battle Misty once again. Surely she'd do better than she did before this time, right? She had evolved two of her Pokemon since her last encounter.

"So, are you ready to battle me again? Hopefully you're more experienced now...I wouldn't want you to have to lose twice in a row..." noted the water-type specialist.

"Yes, I am. I think I can win my badge this time." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Alright then...I suppose you're ready." nodded Misty. "Go, Staryu!"

Sure enough, Misty's Staryu came out of its Pokeball once more.

This time, Lucy decided to send out a different Pokemon.

"Go, Kadabra!" exclaimed the wealthy Pokemon trainer as she tossed a Pokeball.

Sure enough, Lucy's Kadabra was sent out from his Pokeball.

Suffice to say, Kadabra was rather happy that he would be able to participate in a Gym Battle, especially considering that he wasn't able to battle at all as an Abra.

"Kadabra!" exclaimed the Psi Pokemon.

"Staryu, use Water Pulse!" ordered Misty.

Staryu did so, pelting Lucy's Kadabra with water...but since he was a psychic type, he was fairly resistant to confusion.

Speaking of which, that was the move he was going to use next.

"Use Confusion!" commanded Lucy.

Lucy's Kadabra did so, hitting Misty's Staryu with a psychic attack.

"Staryu..." murmured the star shape Pokemon. That psi Pokemon packed a whallop.

"Use Recover!" ordered Misty.

Misty's Staryu did so to help it recover from the injuries it had received earlier.

Unfortunately, this technique would quickly be undone by another round of psychic energy.

"Keep using Confusion!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Kadabra hit Staryu once more, and this time it was a critical hit.

"Staryu!" bellowed the starfish Pokemon.

And to make matters worse, the water Pokemon was now confused.

"Use Tackle!" ordered Misty.

Misty's Staryu tried to do so...but ended up striking itself instead...and it fainted.

"Well, that was rather impressive...but let's see if you can defeat my Starmie this time!" exclaimed Misty as she sent out another Pokeball.

Of course, it was her Starmie.

"Starmie!" exclaimed Misty's Starmie.

"Be careful...it's tough." warned Lucy, noting how her Starmie had defeated her Clefairy before.

Lucy's Kadabra nodded. A Gym Leader's Pokemon should never be underestimated.

"Use Water Pulse!" exclaimed Misty.

"Starmie!" bellowed the mysterious Pokemon as it struck Kadabra with a water pulse.

"Kadabra!" exclaim the psychic Pokemon as he was hit once again.

"Use Confusion again!" demanded Lucy.

Lucy's Kadabra once again used a psychic attack...but since his foe was a psychic type itself, this didn't do Starmie too much.

"I guess having a secondary type has its perks." noted Misty.

"Yes, it does." nodded Lucy, aware that flying types typically were dualtyped.

"I suppose I won't be able to do too much damage, unfortunately...use Kinesis instead!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Kadabra nodded, and twisted his spoon to make Misty's Starmie lose accuracy.

"Starmie, use Rapid Spin!" commanded Misty.

Misty's Starmie did so, spinning into Kadabra at a rapid speed.

"Starmie!" bellowed the star shape Pokemon.

"Kadabra!" exclaimed the psi Pokemon as he was struck.

When it was all over...Lucy's Kadabra had fainted.

"Kadabra..." murmured Lucy's Kadabra, who was now lying down on the floor with his spoon out of his hand.

"I guess he couldn't take too many hits..." noted the female Pokemon trainer as she recalled her Kadabra.

"Are you going to use your Clefairy again?" questioned Misty.

"Of course I am...she's my starter." answered Lucy.

"Alright then." nodded the water-type Pokemon trainer.

Hopefully, Lucy's Clefairy would be able to defeat Misty this time. It would be rather disappointing if she lost twice in a row.

"Go, Clefairy!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

As usual, Lucy's Clefairy detached herself from Lucy's back.

"Use Water Pulse!" ordered Misty.

Misty's Starmie did so, pummeling into Clefairy...and once again making her confused.

"Not again! Use Metronome!" ordered Lucy.

This time, Lucy's Clefairy thankfully did not use Splash...she instead used Surf.

Immediately, Misty's Starmie ended up being sent flying quite a few feet by the approaching tidal wave. Thankfully, it was a water-type, though the attack hurt nonetheless.

"Use Rapid Spin!" exclaimed Misty.

Misty's Starmie immediately spun its way towards Clefairy, knocking her in the water.

However, in this process, this returned her to her senses.

"Uh-oh..." thought Misty.

"Keep using Metronome!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy did so...and this time she hit the jackpot.

Immediately, Misty's Starmie was struck by an immense amount of lightning that was only made worse by the fact that it was a water type and the simple fact that it was swimming in a pool.

Miraculously, Lucy's Clefairy was unaffected...though the same could not be said for Starmie, whose core was now flickering.

"Lucy Hisakawa has won the battle!" exclaimed the referee.

"Funny, you didn't really talk much during my first battle..." noted Lucy.

"I, er, had a sore throat." he explained.

Lucy shrugged.

"Great job! You defeated me this time!" cheered Misty as she recalled her Pokemon.

Misty gave Lucy her badge. She promptly smiled, happy to have won this time.

"My Pokemon sure are getting stronger..." noted Lucy.

"They'll keep on doing that as you keep battling Pokemon trainers...by the way, if you get the chance...you should try going on a cruise ship. That's a personal hobby of mine." answered Misty.

"You mean like the S.S. Anne? My parents took me there a few times...said it was a pretty luxurious cruise ship." noted Lucy.

"So, you're well off then?" questioned the water-type Gym Leader.

Lucy nodded.

"Good for you then...though I'll be giving you this anyway since you defeated me." spoke Misty as she handed Lucy some Pokedollars.

"Thank you!" cheered the wealthy Pokemon trainer, happy to receive a reward for defeating her second Gym Leader.

Lucy happily exited the gym, ready to tell Jake the good news.

_Speaking of which, let's check on him._

Jake was getting a bit bored waiting for Lucy to return, so he decided that he should try Pokemon training.

He noticed that there were many wild Pokemon nearby...he in fact recalled that Pokemon trainers typically used them to train their Pokemon when there weren't any Pokemon trainers nearby.

And as it turns out, there didn't seem to be many Pokemon trainers nearby. Apparently, they had been freaked out about a member of Team Rocket being in charge of the Nugget Bridge...and of course, the robbery that had occurred a few minutes ago.

"Well, let's fight some wild Pokemon then." answered Jake, sending out his Grimer.

"Grimer!" exclaimed the sludge Pokemon as he oozed out of his Pokeball.

"Say, I wonder what kind of Pokemon live in this area anyway...I know that there are a few Abra...but is there anything else?" questioned Jake.

Suddenly, a wild Oddish hopped out of the bushes, much to his brief surprise.

"Well, would you look at that? Funny, I can't help but the shake the feeling that Lucy would probably want a Pokemon like this..." the Team Rocket Grunt thought.

But as it turns out, Lucy would not be the Pokemon Trainer that would catch it.

For some strange reason, it walked up to Grimer and started sniffing him...and for some reason, Oddish actually enjoyed the smell.

"Oddish!" exclaimed the plant Pokemon.

"That's rather odd...then again, they are called Oddish." thought Jake.

"Grimer?" inquired Jake's Grimer. Why did Oddish like him so much? Most plant Pokemon didn't like his presence...

He recalled that Oddish evolved into Gloom...which had a foul-smelling aroma that they could use to defend themselves...maybe that had something to do with it?

Or maybe it was because it was a poison-type Pokemon itself, just like his Grimer...

However, Jake wondered most of all why there were so many questions filling his head all of a sudden. Was he getting too curious?

Suddenly, the wild Oddish brought him back to his senses.

"Oddish!" exclaimed the plant Pokemon, waving his vines in front of him.

"Huh? Do you want a Pokemon battle?" questioned Jake.

"Oddish!" cheered the weed Pokemon.

"Alright then...Grimer, use Sludge!" ordered the Team Rocket Grunt.

Grimer did so, hurling purple goo at the Oddish. Jake noted that he would not be able to poison it since it was part poison-type, but it seemed to do damage nonetheless.

Oddish retaliated by shooting acid at Grimer...but this didn't do much good. It was a poison type after all.

"Grimer?" inquired Jake's Grimer. Why was it attacking it with poison? Surely it should be trying a psychic or a ground attack...

"Pound into it now, I guess." answered Jake.

Jake's Grimer did so, pummeling into Oddish.

"Oddish!" exclaimed the wild Grass Pokemon.

"Huh? You want me to catch you now? Funny, I was thinking that Lucy would be interested in having a Pokemon like you..." said Jake.

Oddish dropped its head sadly.

"But I suppose if you really want to." answered the Team Rocket Grunt as he threw a Pokeball.

The wild Oddish smiled as it was caught.

"It couldn't get enough of your aroma, I guess." thought Jake. "Then again, I'm not sure if Oddish even have noses..."

"Grimer?" inquired Jake's Grimer curiously.

Giving the Oddish a scan, Jake discovered that it was a female.

"Oh, I have a girl Pokemon now...feels kind of weird." murmured the Team Rocket Grunt.

Jake's Grimer simply shrugged.

Suddenly, he began to smell something strange.

"Is that smoke?" questioned Jake.

"Grimer?" inquired Jake's Grimer.

Apparently, there was a fire nearby.

"Oh dear...I don't think Oddish is going to like this..." thought Jake.

"Charmander, use Ember!" commanded Chris.

Chris's Charmander nodded as he shot a small stream of fire out of his mouth.

"Oh, would you look at that...it looks like someone's training their Pokemon...why do I get the feeling that it's someone I know?" murmured the Team Rocket Grunt.

As it turns out, Chris was trying to get her new fire Pokemon to become stronger. So far, she seemed to be succeeding.

"Charmander!" exclaimed Chris's Charmander. He was glad that he would actually get to fight Pokemon that he had a type advantage for a change.

Why did his owner send him out against Rock and Water types anyway? Did he even know about type advantages and disadvantages? Or did he just like being cruel to him?

Then again, he did make him swim in a pool...he thought for a moment that his tail would go out...though thankfully he was able to climb out of the water.

He personally didn't seem too unhappy that his starter Pokemon was gone...he supposed that he really was in better hands. Though admittedly his new trainer was aggressive about training her Pokemon, at least she didn't force him to go for a swim or face opponents that he couldn't possibly win against.

"Have you leveled up yet?" inquired Chris.

Charmander nodded, though he still had some way to go before he became a Charmeleon.

"So, how's your Pokemon training going?" inquired Ned.

"Pretty good...these Grass Pokemon are no match for fire-types to be honest..." answered Chris.

"Charmander!" cheered Chris's Charmander, satisfied at his work.

"Yeah...I heard that Ice types aren't much of a match for them either...though there don't see to be many Ice types inhabitating Kanto." noted Ned.

He noticed that there were now several injured Grass Pokemon nearby...and wondered if he should try tossing a Pokeball at one of them.

He eventually settled on capturing a nearby Bellsprout, since Chris's Charmander had burned it and therefore made it that much easier to catch.

"Pokeball, Go!" exclaimed Ned as he tossed the Pokeball.

Sure enough, it worked surprisingly well...and Bellsprout was caught.

"Well, that was rather easy." thought the nerdy Pokemon trainer. If only all Pokemon captures could be like that. Then again, that wouldn't have been nearly as fun.

However, the Bellsprout released itself from its Pokeball a few minutes later.

"Huh?" questioned Ned.

Immediately, it clasped its mouth around Ned's hand.

"Get off!" demanded the nerdy Pokemon trainer, who was now shaking his hand.

Apparently, this one was a girl...and for some strange reason, it seemed rather attached to him.

"Why won't you let go of me? That's my writing hand, you know!" inquired Ned.

"Bellsprout!" exclaimed the grass Pokemon, who unfortunately wasn't a very good listener.

"What's this? You seem to have made a friend." exclaimed Chris.

"Yeah, I managed to catch a Bellsprout...but for some strange reason, she just won't leave me alone." answered Ned.

"Just like you never leave girls alone?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"Er, yeah...heh heh." nodded the unmasculine Pokemon trainer, who was now starting to feel irony.

Ned recalled his Bellsprout back into her Pokeball with his free hand.

"Well, let's get going to Vermillion City...I think that I've trained my Charmander long enough now." answered Chris.

"How strong is he?" questioned the nerd.

"I think I'll be able to evolve him into a Charmeleon soon...thank you very much. Now are we heading to Vermillion City or not?" exclaimed the tomboy.

Suddenly, Ned noticed that there was a house nearby...this was where the creator of the Pokemon Storage System lived...he was known simply by the name of Bill.

Immediately, he became very excited. In fact, he started jumping up and down.

"Can we visit Bill? Please! I've been wanting to get his autograph for a long time!" exclaimed the nerd.

"Who the heck is Bill?" questioned Chris. Was he the guy that showed up whenever you owed somebody money or something?

"You haven't heard of him? He allows us to store our Pokemon in our PC so that we don't have to carry more than six at a time!" squealed Ned.

"Oh. Funny, I don't think we actually have six Pokemon yet...are you his biggest fanboy or something?" questioned the tomboy.

"I'm somewhere up there." answered the nerd, though he wasn't really sure of that question himself.

"Fine, I suppose we can pay him a visit...but it had better be quick. We don't have all day, you know." nodded Chris.

"Yes!" cheered Ned, happy to finally get to meet the Pokemon researcher.

Immediately, Chris and Ned both entered the house. However, to their surprise, Bill didn't seem to be there.

"That's weird, where is he? I'm pretty sure that he lives here..." questioned the nerd.

"Sorry, looks like you're not going to get his autograph. Let's go." answered Chris.

"Aww..." murmured Ned. Apparently it was simply too good to be true, much like the Magikarp the Magikarp Salesman had offered him.

Suddenly, they noticed that that there was a Clefairy inside his house. For some strange reason, it had a vague resemblance to Bill.

Ned began to wonder what a wild Pokemon was doing inside. Had the Clefairy invited themselves in while he was gone?

"Clefairy clef fairy!" exclaimed the fairy Pokemon. It seemed rather happy to see them.

"Er, this wouldn't happen to be Lucy's Clefairy, now would it?" asked Ned curiously.

Chris gave the Clefairy a scan with her Pokedex.

"No it's not...this one's male...and I'm pretty sure Lucy's was a girl." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Oh." nodded the unmasculine Pokemon trainer.

"Clefairy! Clefairy!" exclaimed the Fairy Pokemon.

"Hmm, that's weird. He seems to be trying to tell us something." answered Chris.

"What seems to be the problem?" inquired Ned.

He noticed that the Clefairy seemed rather unhappy...was he having a bad day? Had he crashed his spaceship?

The Clefairy immediately pointed to a series of switches. Curious, Ned noticed that there seemed to be a rather elaborate machine nearby.

Curious, he decided to give it a closer look.

"Interesting...this device seems to be a Pokemon Molecular Combiner..." questioned Ned.

"Let's just call it the PMC for short..." answered Chris.

"Fair enough." nodded the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Pulling the switch like the Clefairy had asked him to do, an entrance to the device suddenly opened.

The Fairy Pokemon walked inside, and pointed to another switch.

"Huh, I wonder what that Clefairy wants with that machine...he's pretty strange for a Pokemon..." noted Ned.

"Well, he seems really different than Lucy's, I can tell you that much." agreed Chris.

Flipping the other switch that the Clefairy had told him to do, the door to the machine closed.

"I take it you want me to turn it on now?" inquired Ned.

"Clef!" exclaimed the fairy Pokemon. Apparently this meant yes.

"Alright then." nodded the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Turning on the machine, it began to power up...all of a sudden, the wild Clefairy was surrounded with steam.

"What's going on?" questioned Ned in astonishment.

"You're the genius, you figure that out yourself." answered Chris.

The machine began to shake tremendously. Apparently, it was using a lot of electricity.

Eventually however, the shaking subsided, and there was a ding.

The wild Clefairy emerged from the other side a few minutes later...but he wasn't a Clefairy anymore.

As soon as the steam disappeared, Ned and Chris discovered that the Clefairy they had helped earlier was now a human...the Pokemon researcher Bill to be precise.

"Thank you so much!" he exclaimed as the steam disappeared.

Ned once again screamed like a little girl.

"Er, can you explain what happened here?" questioned Chris.

"I was trying to test out my new machine to see if it worked...but unfortunately a wild Pokemon walked into it and I ended up being molecularly combined..." answered Bill.

Sure enough, a wild Clefairy walked out of the machine as well.

"Don't tamper with my machines without my permission!" bellowed Bill.

"Clefairy..." murmured the wild Clefairy in sadness. He had gotten too carried away for his own good, though admittedly being combined with Bill was a rather interesting experience.

Bill threw a Pokeball at the Clefairy, and he was caught.

"Well, hopefully I can keep a closer eye on him now." murmured Bill.

"Funny...my dad has had his share of lab accidents too. I heard that he once swapped brains with a Mankey." spoke Ned.

"He swapped brains with a what?!" exclaimed Chris.

"Yeah...you really shouldn't play with science." answered Ned.

"Someone needs to tell those mad scientists you see on TV that." noted the female Pokemon trainer.

"Yeah..." agreed Ned.

"Is there anything that I can do to repay you two? I was starting to get worried that I was going to be trapped in the wrong body forever!" inquired Bill.

"I'd really appreciate it if you'd give me your autograph. I've been a fan of yours for years." answered the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Yes, of course! Anything for my loyal fans!" agreed the Pokemon researcher.

Ned gave Bill a piece of paper...and he signed it using a conveniently located pen on his desk.

"Yes, yes!" squealed the nerdy Pokemon trainer, happy to have received Bill's autograph at last.

Chris raised an eyebrow. Why exactly did he like Bill so much?

"Is there anything else that you would like to give us, Mr. Bill?" questioned the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"Well, I suppose you can have these pair of S.S Anne cruise tickets...I was going to go on that ship myself...but I got rather busy." explained Bill.

"Are there any Pokemon trainers on that ship?" questioned Chris.

"Yes, there's a fair amount of them." answered the Pokemon researcher.

"I think I'm going to enjoy it then." nodded the female Pokemon trainer, looking forward to some more Pokemon battles.

"Me too!" exclaimed Ned, looking forward to going on a vacation.

"Just be careful not to do anything that would sink the ship. A lot of money went into it." warned Bill.

Chris and Ned nodded as they both left Bill's home.

"Well, it looks like we're going on a vacation!" exclaimed Ned.

"You're going to flirt with every single girl on the ship, aren't you?" inquired Chris.

"What makes you think I'll do that?" asked the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"No reason." answered the female Pokemon trainer sarcastically.

_Meanwhile..._

Much to Jake's pleasure, Lucy joined up with him once again...and this time, she had the Cerulean Badge.

"Great job! You won this time!" cheered Jake.

"Yeah...we've still got a long way to go though before we can enter the Indigo Plateau Conference." noted Lucy.

Jake nodded his head in agreement.

"Of course, I also won that nugget bridge challenge...though to be honest, I'm not sure what to do with it...I'm already rich..." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Funny...my father and I always seem to have financial difficulties..." explained Jake.

"What?" inquired Lucy.

"Yeah, for some strange reason, he can never hold a job for long...he always gets fired." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"That's horrible." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Yeah...I'm starting to get worried about him to be honest...he always seems so depressed." noted Jake.

All of a sudden, Lucy knew what to do with her Nugget.

"You deserve this more than I do then." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

Lucy handed Jake the Nugget.

"What? But you're the one who won it!" exclaimed Jake.

"Well, you're the one whose suffering financially, not me...besides, it was a Team Rocket Grunt that gave it to me..." answered the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"Er, yeah..." nodded the twelve-year old, once again feeling a sense of irony.

He then remembered that he had caught a Pokemon while she was away.

"By the way, I managed to catch another Pokemon..." explained Jake.

"Really? What Pokemon was it?" inquired Lucy.

"It was an Oddish..." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Really?" questioned the female Pokemon trainer.

"Yeah...want to see it?" asked Jake.

Lucy nodded.

Jake sent out his Oddish from her Pokeball.

"Oddish!" exclaimed the grass Pokemon.

"Pleased to meet you." cheered Lucy.

Jake's Oddish began to jump up and down, happy to have a new friend.

"Alright then, back into the Pokeball you go." answered Jake, recalling his new Oddish.

Oddish smiled as she was returned to her Pokeball.

"You know, it's funny...for some reason, she was attracted to my Grimer's smell, so I didn't have a hard time catching her." explained Jake.

"Your Oddish is a girl?" questioned Lucy. Up until now, all Jake's Pokemon had been male.

"You caught your first male Pokemon not too long ago, didn't you?" answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Well, yeah." nodded the female Pokemon trainer, recalling how her Kadabra was male.

"Anyways, I take it you want to head to Vermillion City, now? That's where the next gym is." questioned Jake.

Lucy nodded her head in agreement.

"Alright then, let's go." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.

And so the two of them set out to get their third gym badge.

_At Team Rocket HQ..._

Giovanni once again sat in his office, ready to hear the latest report from his followers.

"So, Officer Jenny crossed paths with you two, didn't they, Baby and Cassidy?" questioned Giovanni.

"I'm not a baby!" exclaimed Butch.

"Sure you're not. Sheesh, it seems like she's been really cracking down on us lately." explained the head of Team Rocket.

"I know..." nodded Cassidy.

"Anyways...did you at least manage to get the TM?" inquired Giovanni.

Butch and Cassidy nodded, presenting the CD that contained the technical machine for their master.

"Very good. Hand it over to me, will you? I'm sure our scientists will be interested in it." asked Team Rocket's big cheese.

The two Team Rocket members nodded once again as they handed Giovanni the TM.

"Well, this is a rather decent consolation prize...but I take it you were unsuccessful in getting the Pokemon of those two Pokemon trainers Jessie and James told me about?" inquired Giovanni.

Butch and Cassidy both dropped their heads in shame.

"Well, if I know anything about you two...I know that you're persistent. Try to find a place where Officer Jenny won't notice you easily...that way you'll be able to capture their Pokemon without interference." ordered Giovanni.

"Yes, boss!" exclaimed Butch.

"And while you're at it, Bobby, you should really try wearing a nametag." explained the Team Rocket Boss.

"I agree...that will make it a lot easier for people to remember your name." agreed Cassidy.

"Why didn't I think of that before?" exclaimed the surprisingly competent Team Rocket Grunt.

"Mm-hmm...let me know if you need anything." explained the Team Rocket Boss.

Butch and Cassidy nodded as they once again left Giovanni's office.

"Personally I wonder if I should try sending them after that missing Team Rocket Grunt and that little girl...but I already told my men that wouldn't be necessary..." noted the head of Team Rocket.

Nonetheless, he hoped that he would be able to gain extra cash in the event that his plan to extort money from the Hisakawa family didn't work out.

Suddenly, his pet Persian walked into his office.

"What is it, boy?" inquired Giovanni.

"Persian..." murmured the cat Pokemon.

"What?! Jessie and James forgot to clean your litterbox?! Those incompetent fools! I'll teach them a lesson or two..." bellowed Giovanni.

"Persian!" cheered Giovanni's Persian. Apparently he was also looking forward to punishing Giovanni's most incompetent followers.

"Mm-hmm, and I'll be doing that right...after my coffee break." answered Giovanni.

"Persian..." murmured Giovanni's Persian sadly.

And so Giovanni went to drink from his precious coffee mug.

_As usual, Jessie and James have proved themselves to be incompetent and rather unintelligent...even though they didn't actually appear in this chapter._

_And of course, Butch and Cassidy have not given up...they didn't let a thing like Officer Jenny bother them, now did they?_

_And yes, Chris and Ned will be going on a cruise ship...as for Lucy and Jake...they'll be going on the cruise ship too...though they'll actually have to pay for their tickets. Tough luck for them._

_So, tune in next time, will you? Adios!_


	19. Chapter 19: Paying Off A Debt

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, Ned and Chris will be battling Lt. Surge...but it's not going to go well for one of them...in fact, it's going to end rather badly._

_But on the bright side of things, Ned will finally be able to pay off his debt to Chris...but will she keep traveling with him after that? Let's find out together, shall we?_

_Oh, and Lucy and Jake will be getting some bikes of their own...turns out Lucy had two of them the whole time...shame that she didn't notice them earlier. Ah well. At least they can ride some bikes too now._

_Let's read the chapter now, shall we?_

**Chapter 19: Paying Off A Debt**

"Hmm, it says here that we can use this underground path to get to Vermillion City..." said Chris.

"Can we go elsewhere? Going underground kinds of makes me feel nervous..." stated Ned.

"As usual you've proven yourself to be a big baby. And no, we can't. That guard standing in front of Saffron City won't let us in." explained the female Pokemon trainer.

_"There's absolutely no way that I'm letting you through! You're a bunch of babies!" exclaimed the guard._

_"But I'm a teenager..." explained Chris._

_"Well, too bad! I'm not still letting you through!" bellowed the guard._

_Chris and Ned frowned as they decided to look for another way to get to Vermillion City._

_"Sheesh, I could really use a cup of coffee right now..." he thought._

"Fine...we'll go through the underground path...but make it quick! Being underground makes me feel nervous..." exclaimed Ned.

"Of course I will...it's not very big to be honest." answered Chris.

Sure enough, the underground path really wasn't all that big. Eventually, they were able to get to the other side.

"So, is Vermillion City a short while from here?" questioned Ned.

"Of course it is! You can see it right over there." answered Chris.

Ned looked around, and immediately sweatdropped, realizing what his partner had told him was true.

"Alright then..." spoke the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Sure enough, they managed to reach Vermillion City in just a few minutes.

"Well, the Vermillion Gym shouldn't be too far from here..." said Chris.

Suddenly, Ned noticed that the headquarters for the Pokemon Fan Club was nearby.

"Can we visit the Pokemon Fan Club?" asked the dorky Pokemon trainer.

"Darn it! You're holding us up again!" answered Chris.

"Aren't we Pokemon fans too?" inquired Ned.

The unfeminine Pokemon trainer sighed.

"Fine...but we better make it quick...I want to battle the gym leader and be done with it." answered Chris.

Reluctantly, she accompanied Ned into the Pokemon fan club headquarters.

Sure enough, the Pokemon fan club president was sitting on a nearby couch, eager to tell the story of how he and the Pokemon fan club came to be.

"Hey there! How would you like to hear about my incredibly long life story?" inquired the president.

"Sure!" exclaimed the nerd.

"Oh heck no..." thought Chris.

"OK...once upon a time I was wee lad that really loved Pokemon...so I set forth on a Pokemon journey to get as many as I could find..." spoke the old man.

Already, the fan club president was beginning to bore Chris.

"Eventually, I managed to capture some rare Pokemon! I was so happy! I felt like I was the best Pokemon trainer in the world!" droned on the president.

Chris was beginning to feel sleepy.

"One day I happened to encounter Mew! None of my friends believed me though...they thought I was bluffing!" exclaimed the old man.

Chris had fallen asleep.

"Zzz..." murmured the tomboy.

"I met a couple of trainers that were interested in joining my cause...they said that we should start a fan club..." murmured the president.

Chris was now snoring.

"And that's the story of how the Pokemon fan club came to be!" bellowed the elderly man.

Chris suddenly woke up.

"Is the story over?" questioned the female Pokemon trainer.

"Yes, it is! Anyways, since you listened to the whole story, I want you two to have this!" exclaimed the president.

The president gave Chris and Ned two bike vouchers.

"What the-" spoke Chris.

"You can use these to purchase bikes from the Cerulean City bike shop!" exclaimed the old man.

Ned gasped in astonishment. He now had a way to pay off Chris' debt.

"Er, are you going to stop hunting me down now?" questioned Ned.

"Maybe..." answered Chris.

"To be honest, I've actually gotten used to traveling with you." noted the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Oh, have you?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

Ned nodded.

"Well then...I suppose it wouldn't hurt to travel you with a big longer..." noted Chris.

"Really?" inquired the male Pokemon trainer.

"Well yeah...I have to admit, though I initially wanted to go on my Pokemon journey solo...it's rather nice to have to someone that I can always boss around..." spoke the female Pokemon trainer.

"What makes you think that you can boss me around?" asked Ned.

"Drop and give me twenty!" demanded Chris.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" exclaimed the nerdy Pokemon trainer in agreement.

Ned began to drop and give her twenty...but unfortunately he could only get in five before collapsing on the floor.

"Really?" questioned Chris.

"I've fallen and I can't get up..." murmured Ned.

Chris reluctantly dragged Ned outside the Pokemon fan club.

_Meanwhile..._

"So, we need to get to Vermillion City through this underground path?" inquired Lucy.

"That we do. I heard that the guard at that gateway to Saffron City won't let us anyone through these days." noted Jake.

Suddenly, they noticed that there seemed to be a Pokemon nearby.

"What the-" questioned the male Pokemon trainer.

Much to their surprise, it was a Bulbasaur.

"That's weird...I thought that Bulbasaurs normally weren't in the wild in Kanto..." questioned the female Pokemon trainer.

"I heard that they had a secret garden where there's a ceremony for evolving into an Ivysaur..." noted Jake.

"Did it decide to leave the garden or something?" questioned Lucy.

Suddenly, the wild Bulbasaur noticed them.

"Bulbasaur!" exclaimed the dinosaur Pokemon. Apparently it was happy to see a few Pokemon trainers for a change.

Lucy gave the Bulbasaur a scan. This one was a female by the looks of it.

"Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokemon. It has a seed planted on its back at birth which grows along with the Pokemon." read Lucy's Pokedex.

Lucy decided to have her Clefairy ask what the Bulbasaur was doing out in the wild.

"Clefairy?" questioned Lucy's Clefairy.

"Bulbasaur!" exclaimed the wild Bulbasaur.

Apparently, this particular Bulbasaur was a traveling Pokemon that wanted to explore Kanto...unfortunately, it had hit a roadblock as of late.

_"Get out of here, you wild Pokemon! I'm not letting you through!" bellowed the guard._

_"Bulba..." murmured the wild Bulbasaur sadly as she left the building._

_"Sheesh...if only you were a water Pokemon...I am so thirsty..." murmured the angry man._

And to make matters worse, a Bulbasaur wasn't well-suited for going underground, since Bulbasaurs needed a fair amount of sunlight to keep going.

"Oh dear...that does sound like a problem..." murmured Lucy.

"Bulba..." nodded the grass Pokemon.

"I know! Why don't you come along with us! That'll help you travel, am I right?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

Bulbasaur nodded. That did sound like a good deal...though she wanted to test out Lucy's skill first.

"Bulbasaur!" exclaimed the dinosaur Pokemon.

"You want a Pokemon battle? Um, sure..." nodded Lucy.

Lucy decided to send out her Clefairy.

"Bulbasaur!" bellowed the grass Pokemon.

Immediately, the wild Bulbasaur whipped the opposing Clefairy with some vines.

"Clefairy!" yelled the fairy Pokemon.

"Try using Metronome!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy did so...and roasted the wild Bulbasaur with a stream of fire.

"Bulbasaur!" exclaimed the wild Bulbasaur, recalling the day she had run into a rather vicious Charmander.

And to make matters worse for Bulbasaur, she ended up getting burned.

"Bulba..." murmured the dinosaur Pokemon.

Lucy immediately threw a Pokeball.

"Pokeball, go!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

Sure enough, Bulbasaur was caught.

"Well, that didn't take too long." noted Jake.

"Who would have thought that there was a wild Bulbasaur roaming Kanto?" questioned Lucy.

"I know..." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt. He personally wondered where Professor Oak got so many Bulbasaurs to give to starting Pokemon trainers.

"Well, off to Vermillion City we go, then." spoke Lucy.

Jake nodded his head in agreement.

_Back to our other two heroes..._

Heading back to Cerulean City, Chris and Ned gave their bike vouchers to the bike shop owner, who was rather surprised that they had gotten their hands on them.

"Who gave you these?!" exclaimed the bike shop owner in surprise.

"The president of the fan club, why?" inquired Chris.

The bike shop owner sighed. How many times had the Pokemon fan club president handed Pokemon trainers bike vouchers? He must have had a nearly bottomless pool of funds by now.

"Fine, take your stupid bikes. See if I care." answered the bike shop owner.

Chris stuck her tongue out in front of the cashier as she and Ned each picked out their own bike.

In Chris's case, she picked out a black bike. In Ned's case, he picked out a white bike.

"Well then, let's head back to Vermillion City on our new bikes, shall we?" inquired Chris.

"Er, yeah..." nodded Ned, who was feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing.

"Don't you dare use them while you're still in this shop!" bellowed the bike shop owner.

"Right, of course..." answered Chris sarcastically, who was in fact looking forward to doing so.

And so the two of them left the shop before trying out their new bikes.

"This should make travelling a lot easier." noted the female Pokemon trainer.

"Mm-hmm..." nodded Ned nervously.

_Back to our other heroes..._

Lucy and Jake arrived in Vermillion City, ready to challenge the gym leader.

Curious, they decided to read the sign to see who they were up against this time.

"The Lightning American..." read Lucy.

"Looks like we're going to be dealing with an electric-type gym leader this time...good thing we both have grass-types." noted Jake.

"Uh-huh!" agreed the female Pokemon trainer.

But something else caught Lucy's attention.

"What's this? The Pokemon fan club?" inquired the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"The Pokemon fan club?" questioned Jake.

Immediately, she wanted to pay it a visit.

"Can we pay a visit? I've been a Pokemon fan for years." asked Lucy.

"Um, sure." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.

Sure enough, Lucy and Jake paid him a visit.

"Hello there! It's good to see that there are so many fans of Pokemon...in fact, two of them just visited me today!" exclaimed the Pokemon fan club president.

"One of them wouldn't happen to be a girl that loosely resembles a boy and one of them wouldn't happen to be a boy that loosely resembles a girl, now would they?" asked Jake.

"Why yes, that would describe them perfectly!" exclaimed the president.

"I guess Chris and Ned were here first..." noted Lucy.

"I gave them some bike vouchers since they were so eager to listen to my life story! Hopefully they'll have a nice ride on their new bikes!" bellowed the old man.

Suddenly, Lucy remembered something.

"Funny, didn't my parents get me two bike vouchers?" asked the female Pokemon trainer.

"They did?" asked Jake.

"Yeah...they wanted me to give one to a friend." noted Lucy.

"That'd have been nice for us to know while we were at Cerulean City." answered Jake.

"Sorry, I forgot!" apologized the female Pokemon trainer.

"Let's just go get some bikes..." suggested the Team Rocket Grunt.

Lucy nodded as she and Jake went to get some bikes.

Oddly enough, the bike shop owner didn't seem surprised that they had some bike vouchers.

"Just take your bikes and go...like those two kids I met earlier..." answered the shop owner.

"I'm pretty sure one of them was a teenager." answered Jake.

"Whatever!" exclaimed the cashier.

Lucy and Jake did what the bike shop owner told them to do and picked out two bikes...a pink bike for Lucy, and one blue bike for Jake.

Oddly enough, Lucy's Clefairy got the feeling that they could use one of them to get back home, though she wasn't quite sure how.

Maybe she could phone home while she was at it? Then again she wasn't even sure that her parents had phones.

She thought about what she could do to get back home as her owner and Jake both left the bike store.

"Lousy kids and their stupid vouchers..." murmured the bike shop owner as he went to deliver the vouchers to the nearest bank...which was in Pewter City.

Suffice to say, Lucy and Jake were both happy to try out their new bikes.

"Isn't bike riding fun?" asked Lucy.

"It sure is..." noted Jake. Unfortunately, his father was never able to afford a bike for him...since they costed way too much.

Suffice to say, he was rather glad that he was traveling with Lucy...though it wasn't simply because she was rich.

"Why did I even agree to participate on that mission for Giovanni anyway?" thought Jake.

_It's time for our heroes to battle Lt. Surge..._

After a brief visit to the Pokemon Fan Club and getting some rather valuable bikes, Chris and Ned decided to take on Lt. Surge.

Sure enough, he was standing in the arena waiting to take on some challengers. He had a rather smug grin on his face.

Immediately, Ned started hiding behind Chris, much to her surprise.

"Um, are you feeling okay?" questioned the female Pokemon trainer.

"What's this? It looks like a bunch of greenhorn Pokemon trainers have decided to challenge me!" taunted Lt. Surge.

"What makes you think that we're greenhorn Pokemon trainers?" questioned Chris.

"How many badges do you have?" asked the lieutenant.

"We both have two, why?" answered the female Pokemon trainer.

Lt. Surge sweatdropped.

"Well OK...maybe you're not as bad as I thought...but you're still going to lose!" exclaimed the electric-type Gym Leader.

"You think you're tough, huh? Let's see how cocky you are after I beat you and take your badge!" answered Chris.

Suddenly, Lt. Surge noticed Ned hiding behind his own partner. He immediately decided to change who would fight first.

"What's this? It appears that we have a coward! Change of plans! Your buddy here is going to be battling me first!" exclaimed Ned.

Chris sighed as she decided to sit in the bleachers. She was really hoping that she would be able to get this over with.

Curious, she noticed that there was a rulebook detailing the instructions for battling in Lt. Surge's gym nearby. She decided to give it a read, though it was mainly telling Pokemon trainers and their Pokemon not be weaklings.

Sure enough, there was a rule about cowards being forced to battle the gym leader first.

"Why couldn't Ned be braver?" thought Chris, still unhappy about having to battle Lt. Surge second.

Ned immediately felt nervous. He had never really been in a Gym Leader battle before. What was he going to do?

Sure enough, there was a referee ready to give him advice...he was dressed in a military outfit similar to Lt. Surge.

"Fight like a man...and don't use water types. Those are for wimps." explained the referee soldier.

"Aren't those super-effective against fire types and rock types?" inquired Ned.

"True...but they won't be doing you any good in this gym! Now fight like a soldier!" bellowed the soldier.

"Sir, yes, sir!" exclaimed the nerdy Pokemon trainer in fear.

"Why am I even bothering with you? Go, Pikachu!" questioned Lt. Surge as he sent out his Pikachu.

"Pika pi!" exclaimed the electric Pokemon.

Chris decided to give Lt. Surge's Pikachu a scan.

"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon! It is the most popular Pokemon in history, and stores electricity in its cheeks!" yelled Chris's Pokedex.

"This is the most popular Pokemon in history? I wonder why? I don't really see what's so special about it..." inquired Chris.

"G-go, Bellsprout!" exclaimed Ned as he dropped his Pokeball on the floor.

"Bellsprout!" cheered the grass Pokemon.

Immediately, she clapsed her mouth around Ned's hand, making him even more nervous.

"Is your Bellsprout going to even fight? I've fought way stronger Pokemon than this!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

Sure enough, Ned's Bellsprout detached herself from her owner's palm.

"Pikachu, use Shock Wave!" ordered Lt. Surge.

"Pikachu!" exclaimed the electric mouse Pokemon as he zapped the opposing Bellsprout.

"Bellsprout!" bellowed the grass Pokemon. Good thing she was fairly resistant to electricity as a grass-type.

Unfortunately, Ned was too nervous at the moment to give his Pokemon instructions.

"He's...so...scary..." murmured Ned, who at this point had curled himself into a ball.

"What's this? Some trainer you are! You're not even commanding your Bellsprout to fight! That's too bad...Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" ordered Lt. Surge.

Pikachu did so, slamming into the opposing Bellsprout.

"Bellsprout, use V-vine Whip!" exclaimed Ned.

"Bellsprout?" inquired Ned's Bellsprout. Why was her owner so nervous?

Nonetheless, she decided to pelt the opposing Pikachu with vines.

"Pika pi!" exclaimed the opposing Pikachu. Being struck by those vines hurt.

"I've received worse lashings than that when I was in the military! You can pull through! Pikachu, use Quick Attack again!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

Pikachu did so, knocking himself into Bellsprout once again. This time, she fainted.

"B-bellsprout..." murmured Ned, who was feeling more afraid than ever as he recalled his Bellsprout into her Pokeball.

"Why did you send a baby Pokemon to fight me?" asked Lt. Surge.

"G-go, Nidoran!" exclaimed Ned.

Sure enough, his Nidoran was sent out from her Pokeball.

"Your Nidoran is a girl?! How pathetic! And here I thought your Bellsprout was wimpy!" bellowed Lt. Surge.

Ned whimpered in fear.

"U-use Double Kick!" exclaimed Ned rather nervously.

Ned's Nidoran did so, kicking Pikachu as hard as she could twice in succession.

"Pika pi..." murmured Lt. Surge's Pikachu as he fainted.

Lt. Surge seemed mildly displeased with what had happened to his Pikachu, but he got over it pretty quickly.

"You may have defeated my Pikachu, but you're still not even half the man I am! Go, Voltorb!" bellowed the lieutenant as he tossed another Pokeball.

"Voltorb!" exclaimed the Pokemon that had an odd resemblance to a Pokeball.

Curious as to why it resembled a Pokeball, Chris gave the Voltorb a scan.

"Voltorb, the Ball Pokemon. For some reason, this Pokemon looks just like a Pokeball, and loves to self-destruct." read Chris's Pokedex.

"Maybe I could use one to pull a prank on Ned..." thought the female Pokemon trainer.

"Voltorb, use Sonic Boom!" demanded Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Voltorb did so, hitting Nidoran with a blast of sound. For some strange reason, this technique did the same amount of damage every time.

"Nidoran!" exclaimed the poison Pokemon as she was struck.

Unfortunately, Ned was once again petrified with fear.

"I want...my mommy..." thought the dorky Pokemon trainer.

"You won't even last five minutes in the military! Voltorb, use Sonic Boom again!" commanded Lt. Surge.

Voltorb once again struck Nidoran with a blast of sound, and Nidoran fainted.

"Nidoran..." murmured the female Pokemon as she collapsed to the floor.

"Aah!" screamed Ned, horrified as to what happened to his Nidoran at the hands of Lt. Surge's Pokemon.

"Are you scared? You should be! You are no match for my Pokemon!" taunted the nasty gym leader.

Ned immediately sent out his Eevee. At this point, he was his only hope.

"Eevee, protect me!" demanded the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Eevee?" questioned Ned's Eevee. What seemed to be the problem? Why was Ned in danger?

Chris decided to read the rules to see if she could find anything interesting...surely there had to be a technicality she could use somewhere.

Suddenly, she noticed something in the rulebook that she could use in her advantage...once she actually got the opportunity to fight Lt. Surge

"I bet I'm going to love how he reacts. I'm sure it's going to be priceless." she thought.

"E-Eevee, use Quick Attack!" exclaimed Ned, who at this point was feeling much anxiety.

Eevee did so, pummeling into the opposing Voltorb and knocking the breath out of it...assuming Voltorbs actually breathed.

"You call that an attack? Let me show you how it's _really_ done." said Lt. Surge. "Voltorb, use Shock Wave!"

"Voltorb!" exclaimed Lt. Surge's Voltorb, charging up electricity.

The ball Pokemon happily did as its master asked of it, hitting Eevee with a huge surge of electricity.

"Use...Tackle..." murmured Ned.

Ned's Eevee did so, tackling into Lt. Surge's Voltorb and causing it to faint.

"Voltorb..." murmured the ball Pokemon.

"Well then, it's just you, me, and my strongest Pokemon of all! Go, Raichu!" exclaimed Lt. Surge as he tossed the Pokeball containing his last Pokemon.

"Raichu!" bellowed the evolved mouse Pokemon.

Chris once again gave Lt. Surge's Pokemon a scan. Was this really his strongest Pokemon of all?

"Raichu, the Mouse Pokemon. Though the evolved form of Pikachu, it is not nearly as popular as its preevolution. Nonetheless, it can store over 100,000 volts in its body."

Chris whistled. Lt. Surge apparently wasn't kidding.

Unfortunately, Ned was more frightened than ever. In fact, he seemed to be slowly crawling away from the gym leader.

"Aww, don't run away! I've still got one Pokemon left that my Raichu here can pulverize!" exclaimed Lt. Surge. "Raichu, use Shock Wave!"

Raichu did so...taking out Eevee in one shot.

"Eevee!" exclaimed the rabbit Pokemon as it was brutally shocked.

"Eevee..." murmured Ned, shocked to see his starter Pokemon so horribly defeated.

"Hahaha! I told you that you weren't going to win! And yet you didn't listen to me!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

Ned shivered.

The lieutenant then walked up to the nerdy Pokemon trainer and started insulting him some more.

"You call yourself a man? Your friend over here is twice the man you are, and she's a girl!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

Chris opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself when she realized what Lt. Surge was saying was true.

"You're a loser! The biggest loser in history! You're a disgrace!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

This made Chris mad.

"Hey! Nobody insults my partner except me!" bellowed the tomboy hypocritically yet compassionately.

"Oh really? Personally, I don't even think you should travel with a guy like him! He's just a big baby...and I'm surprised he's not wearing a diaper!" taunted Lt. Surge.

Chris's face turned red.

"That does it! I'm challenging you one-on-one! Just your Raichu and my Jigglypuff!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

Lt. Surge simply laughed.

"You're sending a Jigglypuff to fight me? How pathetic! This battle is going to be absolutely boring!" exclaimed the electric-type Gym Leader.

"What are you doing?" asked Ned.

"What does it look like? I'm avenging you!" exclaimed Chris.

"But he's so strong..." warned the unmasculine Pokemon trainer.

"Relax, I have a plan." answered the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"No plan is going to save you from the wrath of my Raichu!" bellowed Lt. Surge.

"Whatever military man, let's just get this over with. Go, Jigglypuff!" exclaimed Chris as she tossed her Jigglypuff's Pokeball.

"Jiggly!" bellowed the balloon Pokemon as she was released from her Pokeball.

"Use Sing!" demanded Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded, and sang a song to make Raichu fall asleep...which succeeded magnificently.

"Raichu..." murmured the electric Pokemon in his sleep.

Lt. Surge was rather surprised to see what had happened. Surely his Raichu was more powerful than that.

"What?! Wake up! Does this arena look like a place to sleep to you?!" demanded the electric-type Gym Leader.

"Yeah...about that...you might want to check the rules you set up for challenging you..." answered Chris.

"What?!" inquired the electric-type specialist.

"According to Rule 40, if you snooze in a Pokemon battle, you end up losing the fight. And since your Raichu has fallen asleep..." explained the tomboy.

"What?! That's ridiculous! Let me see that!" bellowed Lt. Surge.

Immediately, the lieutenant snatched the instruction booklet from Chris's hands and started flipping through the pages.

He then gasped in shock, realizing what she had told him was true. He promptly clutched his head.

"Noooo...nooo...noooooooo...noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" screamed Lt. Surge, realizing that he had lost.

"Yes! Yes!" exclaimed Chris, happy about her victory.

The lieutenant dropped to his knees in defeat, having fallen victim to one of his own rules.

"Fine, you can have this badge...it doesn't do much anyway...it just helps get your Pokemon to listen to you, that's all..." answered the lieutenant.

"I'll be taking my prize money too. Cough it up!" eagerly added the female Pokemon trainer.

Lt. Surge sighed and handed Chris some cash, having taken an enormous blow to his ego.

"C'mon, Ned, let's get out of here already! I'm sick of Lt. Surge yelling at us already!" exclaimed Chris.

"Um, sure..." answered Ned, shocked as to how easily his partner had defeated Lt. Surge.

"Wait, don't I still need to get the badge from the electric-type gym leader?" inquired the male Pokemon trainer.

"Oh, don't worry about that...I'm going to be teaching you...how to become a man!" exclaimed Chris.

"Do you mind if I ask you how you're going to do that? No offense...but you're a girl." answered Ned.

"Well, Lt. Surge said I'm still twice the man you are...so let's get down to business!" bellowed the female Pokemon trainer in response.

"Right...of course..." nodded Ned.

To be honest to himself, he admittedly wasn't really looking forward to a thing. Was Chris really twice the man he was?

However, Ned ultimately figured if Chris's training would somehow help him defeat Lt. Surge, he supposed he could give it a try.

_Let's check on Lucy and Jake one last time for the chapter..._

"You know, I heard that there's a cave nearby that was built entirely by Pokemon...it should be the east of here..." spoke Lucy.

"Really?" inquired Jake, who all of a sudden was feeling rather curious.

"Yeah...it says that it leads from Vermillion City to Pewter City...they sure dug fairly far..." explained the female Pokemon trainer.

"That's good to know." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.

"So...do you want to head there?" asked Lucy.

"I suppose it'd be nice to have a tour...though I wonder what kind of Pokemon would be able to build a tunnel like that..." questioned Jake.

"Me too. Let's find out!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

"Alright then." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.

And so the two decided to check out the mysterious cave that served as a shortcut between Pewter and Vermillion City.

_Oh dear, Lt. Surge isn't the friendliest Gym Leader in Kanto, is he? He is such a sore winner...and poor Ned has had his Pokemon dominated by him...at least Chris was able to find a surprisingly easy way to get the badge though..._

_In the next chapter, Lucy will be catching a Pokemon that really likes to dig...and Chris and Ned will be boarding the S.S. Anne, since it's such an awesome cruise ship and all._

_Adios!_


	20. Chapter 20: Sailing The Seven Seas

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, our heroes are going to be boarding the S.S. Anne...but right before that Lucy and Jake are going to enter a certain cave near Vermillion City...and Lucy's going to make a buddy._

_What kind of buddy you ask? Let's find out...though you probably know this one already._

_Oh, and Chris is going to encounter a familiar face while she's on board the S.S. Anne...one that you probably weren't expecting._

**Chapter 20: Sailing The Seven Seas**

Noticing a sign outside the cave, Lucy and Jake discovered that the cave in question was known as Diglett's Cave.

"I think it should be obvious what Pokemon we're going to find in there..." noted Jake.

"Yeah..." nodded Lucy. Surely it was a ton of Digletts, right?

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the cave, a wild Diglett appeared.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy. She seemed rather surprised that a Pokemon had shown out of the blue.

"Um, hi?" asked Jake.

"Diglett?" asked the mole Pokemon curiously.

Jake decided to give the Diglett a scan.

"Diglett, the Mole Pokemon. It prefers dark places, and spends most of its time underground." explained Jake's Pokedex.

"That explains why they built this cave..." spoke Jake.

"Well, I guess we'll be going back now..." answered Lucy, heading in the other direction.

"Diglett!" exclaimed the mole Pokemon.

Suddenly, the mole Pokemon tunneled right in front of them.

"What the-" exclaimed Jake.

"I guess he doesn't want us to leave so soon..." answered Lucy.

"Diglett!" exclaimed the mole Pokemon, nodding his head in agreement.

Immediately, he began to burrow around them.

"Looks like it wants a Pokemon battle...but which one of us should fight it?" questioned Jake.

"I'll do it!" exclaimed Lucy. She had just the Pokemon for the job...and of course she was looking forward to using it.

Immediately, she sent out her new Bulbasaur to defeat Diglett with.

"Bulbasaur!" exclaimed the dinosaur Pokemon, happy to get to participate in a Pokemon battle.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any sunlight where she was currently located.

"Bulba..." murmured Lucy's Bulbasaur, feeling rather upset.

Immediately, the wild Diglett scratched Bulbasaur in the face.

"Dig!" bellowed the mole Pokemon.

"Apparently, Digletts have claws...who would have thunk it?" noted Jake.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!" commanded Lucy.

Lucy's Bulbasaur did so, whipping the opposing Diglett as fast as she could.

"Diglett!" exclaimed the mole Pokemon. Apparently, this was super effective. Given that Digletts were Ground-types, this wasn't very surprising.

The wild Diglett hurled some dirt into the opposing Bulbasaur's eyes.

"Bulbasaur!" exclaimed the grass Pokemon, who began to try to rub the sand out with her front legs.

"Use Leech Seed!" commanded Lucy.

Lucy's Bulbasaur did so, covering the opposing Diglett with seeds.

"Diglett..." murmured the wild Diglett, who all of a sudden wasn't feeling too well.

"I think this is your chance, Lucy." noted Jake.

Lucy nodded as she tossed a Pokeball.

"Pokeball, go!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

After a brief struggle, there was a ding, and Diglett was caught.

"Clefairy!" cheered Lucy's Clefairy.

"Alright!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer. Now she had a full Pokemon team.

Jake smiled, happy that Lucy had caught a new Pokemon.

Giving her new Pokemon a scan...Lucy found out this particular Diglett was male.

"Huh...another male Pokemon...that's two boys and four girls..." thought the female Pokemon trainer.

"I heard that the Gym Leader here is an electric-type user...you think you could use your Diglett against him?" inquired Jake.

"Maybe...I heard that there's a cruise ship nearby though...I was wondering if we could go on board..." noted Lucy.

"Do you have tickets for it?" inquired Jake.

"As a matter of fact, I do!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

"It's nice of your parents to be so generous with you..." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"I know..." nodded Lucy.

And so, Lucy and Jake decided to visit the S.S. Anne. Surely there would be something on that ship that they would enjoy together, right?

"I wonder if Chris and Ned are going to be on that ship too..." thought Jake. He personally wondered where they would be able to get tickets for it.

_Let's see who else is boarding the cruise ship..._

"Two tickets for S.S. Anne, please!" exclaimed Chris.

"Sure, go right on ahead, ma'am." answered the sailor.

Chris and Ned happily boarded the cruise ship, where the sailor showed them their rooms.

"Now then, I want us to have another Pokemon battle." answered Chris.

"Another Pokemon battle?" inquired Ned.

"You want to become a man, don't you?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"Um, yeah..." answered her partner nervously.

"Let's get it on!" exclaimed Chris.

Ned decided to send out his Bellsprout...who once again put her mouth on his hand.

"Get off!" demanded the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Oh dear...she simply won't leave you alone, now will she?" inquired Chris.

"Uh-huh!" exclaimed Ned, still trying to shake his Bellsprout off of him.

Bellsprout finally let go so that she could battle Chris.

"Unfortunately for you, I'll be sending out my Charmander!" exclaimed Ned's new coach.

Immediately, she threw the Pokeball containing her fire Pokemon.

"Charmander!" exclaimed the fire Pokemon.

"Uh-oh..." thought Ned, realizing that he had a type disadvantage.

"Use Ember, Charmander!" commanded Chris.

Charmander did so, roasting the unfortunate Bellsprout.

"Bellsprout!" exclaimed Ned's Bellsprout. Fortunately, she did not end up getting burned.

"Not good..." thought Ned. "Use Wrap!"

Ned's Bellsprout did so, wrapping up the opposing Charmander with vines...

Unfortunately, Charmander simply burned them away.

"Nice try, but you're going to have to do much better than that. Use Ember again!" commanded Chris.

Chris's Charmander did so, roasting the opposing Bellsprout once again, inducing fainting.

"Bellsprout..." murmured the grass Pokemon as Ned recalled her.

"Go, Nidoran!" exclaimed Ned, tossing another Pokeball.

"Nidoran!" yelled the poison Pokemon as she was sent out.

"Let's hope that your Nidoran does better than your Bellsprout did..." noted Chris.

"Er, yeah...use Double Kick!" ordered Ned.

Ned's Nidoran did so, kicking into the opposing Charmander.

"Charmander!" bellowed the salamander Pokemon. Apparently, Nidoran had gotten in a good hit.

Suddenly, Charmander struck Nidoran with a claw...which for some reason seemed to have been metallic.

"Nice! Hopefully this will help counter your weakness with Rock types..." noted Chris.

"Funny, I thought that Steel-type Pokemon weren't native to Kanto..." questioned Ned.

"Well, not Magnemite and Magneton." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Right..." nodded the dorky Pokemon trainer. Oddly enough, Magnemite and Magneton weren't discovered to be Steel Pokemon until Professor Elm began researching them.

What will professors discover about Pokemon next?

Suddenly, Nidoran struck Charmander with a poisonous attack from her barbs.

"Charmander..." murmured Chris's Charmander, who was feeling rather woozy.

"Oh great. You just poisoned my Charmander...torch the Nidoran!" exclaimed Chris.

Understanding what Chris had meant, Chris's Charmander once again used Ember on Nidoran.

"Nidoran!" exclaimed the poison Pokemon.

"Use Poison Sting again!" commanded Ned. "Or whatever move you just learned..."

Ned's Nidoran did so, poisoning Charmander even more.

Feeling woozy, Chris's fire Pokemon suddenly fainted.

"Well, it looks we're even then. Go Nidoran!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

"Nidoran!" bellowed the poison Pokemon.

Immediately, Nidoran ran towards his opponent, ready to sting...

...but then stopped when he realized who his opponent was.

All of a sudden, both Nidoran began snuggling up against each other. Chris and Ned's cheeks both turned red.

"What's going on here?" questioned Chris.

"I don't know..." answered Ned.

Suddenly, both of the Nidoran began to glow.

"Looks like they're both evolving..." noted the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Yeah, I can see that." answered the tomboy.

Immediately, both of the Nidoran became Nidorino and Nidorina respectively.

Chris and Ned both decided to scan their partner's Pokemon.

"Nidorino, the Poison Pin Pokemon. This aggressive Pokemon is quick to attack, and the horn on its head secretes a powerful venom." explained Ned's Pokedex.

"Nidorina, the Poison Pin Pokemon! Its horn develops slowly, so it prefers physical attacks such as clawing or biting!" exclaimed Chris's Pokedex.

"Well, would you look at that...they've both evolved simutaneously." questioned Chris.

"Should we leave them alone together?" asked Ned.

"Eh, I suppose we can consider this battle between our two Pokemon a stalemate." answered the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"Yeah..." nodded Chris's partner.

Chris and Ned both took Nidorino and Nidorina to Chris's room before continuing their battle.

"Alright then...go Beedrill!" exclaimed Chris.

"Beedrill!" bellowed the bug Pokemon.

"Go, Geodude!" ordered Ned.

"Geodude!" bellowed the rock Pokemon.

Chris facepalmed.

"Darn it! Now I'm the one with the type disadvantage...hmm..." thought Chris.

Surely there was a way for her to defeat Geodude using her Beedrill...but how?

"Er, you wouldn't happen to know any more tricks since the last time I used you for battle, now would you?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

Oddly enough, Beedrill actually did. Immediately, she started stinging Geodude, twice in rapid succession.

And wouldn't you know it, Geodude got poisoned.

"Geodude..." murmured the rock Pokemon.

"Oh man!" exclaimed Ned. Just when things were finally looking up for him too.

"Well, might as well have you battle while you still can. Use Rock Throw!" commanded Ned.

Ned's Geodude did so, throwing a few rocks at Beedrill...since she was a bug-type, this was super effective.

"Beedrill!" exclaimed the bee Pokemon. Those rocks really hurt.

"Geodude!" cheered Ned's Geodude. She was pretty confident that she was going to win this fight.

"Keep using Twineedle I guess...that's the new move you learned, right?" questioned Chris.

Chris's Beedrill nodded, and started stinging Geodude with both of her stingers.

"Keep using Rock Throw!" exclaimed Ned.

Ned's Geodude so, hurling more rocks against Chris's Beedrill. She was now feeling rather weak.

"Darn it...keeps using Twineedle I guess...it's the only move that I can think of that won't suffer from a type disadvantage..." answered Chris.

Chris's Beedrill nodded, and struck Geodude with another bug-type attack. Ned's Geodude at this point was feeling weak.

Nonetheless, Ned was able to finish off Beedrill with just one more rock-type attack.

"Beedrill..." murmured the bee Pokemon, who was now lying down on the floor with her rather large eyes shut tight.

"Well, now to send out my Spearow, I guess." answered Chris.

"Doesn't that have a type disadvantage too?" questioned Ned.

"Darn it! I really need to get a Grass or a Water type..." noted the female Pokemon trainer.

"Yeah, maybe..." answered the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Hit it with Pursuit!" commanded Chris.

Chris's Spearow did so, pummeling into Geodude, who was now feeling exhausted.

"Hold on, Geodude! Use Rock Throw!" commanded Ned.

Once again, Ned's Geodude hurled rocks at the enemy, taking advantage of its type advantage.

"Spearow!" exclaimed Chris's Spearow. Much like Beedrill, he was suffering a lot of damage from those stones.

However, at that very moment, Ned's Geodude fainted.

"Geodude..." murmured the rock Pokemon. The poison had taken its toll.

"Oh, c'mon!" exclaimed Ned. Why did his Geodude have to faint now?

"Just two Pokemon left, huh?" answered Chris.

Ned nodded as he sent out...his Magikarp.

"Magikarp!" exclaimed the fish Pokemon, who was splashing about.

"You still have that Magikarp that con artist gave you, huh?" questioned Chris.

"Uh-huh..." answered Ned.

"I can't believe he tricked you like that." noted the female Pokemon trainer.

Ned nodded his head in agreement, though he did remember what the three sisters at Cerulean Gym had told him.

"Er, use Splash...I guess." noted Ned.

Ned's Magikarp splashed about...but it did nothing to the enemy Spearow.

"What a disappointment. Use Peck!" commanded Chris.

Chris's Spearow did so...but at the last minute, it decided to use a stronger attack.

Immediately, it flew into Magikarp as fast as it could, doing a large amount of damage.

"Magikarp!" exclaimed the fish Pokemon.

"Huh, you've learned Aerial Ace...I guess you won't need to use Peck anymore." noted Chris.

Chris's Spearow nodded, and promptly forgot the technique. Out with the old, in with the new.

Suddenly, something clicked inside Magikarp, and he suddenly tackled into Spearow.

"Magikarp!" exclaimed the fish Pokemon.

Unfortunately, it didn't do much damage...nonetheless, Ned was surprised that Magikarp had actually learned a damaging technique.

"Guess you'll be able to fight now...though I don't think you'll be able to do much damage..." noted Ned.

Magikarp nodded.

"Your Magikarp has learned how to tackle...big deal! He's still going to faint. Use Aerial Ace!" exclaimed Chris.

Once again, Spearow flew into the enemy Magikarp...and as Chris said would happen, Magikarp winded up fainting.

"Magikarp..." murmured Ned's Magikarp. Why did he have to be so weak? Surely he would grow up to be big and strong one day...

"Hopefully you'll eventually become stronger..." noted Ned as he recalled his Magikarp into his Pokeball.

"Looks like it's just your Eevee now." answered Chris.

"Yeah, it's just my Eevee..." answered her partner.

Ned sent out his Eevee to defeat Chris's Spearow.

"Do your best!" exclaimed Ned.

Ned's Eevee nodded, eager to battle and become stronger. Hopefully next time he wouldn't get taken down in one hit by Lt. Surge's Raichu.

"Use Quick Attack!" commanded the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Ned's Eevee did so, pummeling into Chris's Spearow, and causing him to faint.

"It's just our starter Pokemon this time...reminds me of our first battle." noted Chris.

"Yeah, i know..." nodded Ned.

Chris sent out her Jigglypuff.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed the balloon Pokemon.

"Alright...this is a one-on-one fight now, so you had better make it count." explained Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff nodded, not wanting to disappoint her trainer.

"Use Sing!" commanded Chris.

Jigglypuff immediately began to sing a lullaby to make her opponent fall asleep.

However, Ned's Eevee knew what Jigglypuff had planned, and covered his ears to help resist the song. Unfortunately, he was still rather sleepy.

"Ah, you're still awake! Good! Hit Jigglypuff with a Sand-Attack!" exclaimed Ned.

Ned's Eevee did so, hurling sand into Chris's Jigglypuff's eyes.

"Jigglypuff!" exclaimed the balloon Pokemon. Apparently, Ned's Eevee was a lot stronger than before.

"Use Pound!" commanded Chris.

Jigglypuff did so, pummeling into Ned's Eevee as hard as she possibly could.

"Eevee!" exclaimed the evolution Pokemon.

Suddenly, Eevee sank his teeth into the enemy Jigglypuff.

"Jigglypuff!" bellowed the balloon Pokemon.

"Oh...he learned Bite." noted Ned.

Ned decided to have his Eevee forget Quick Attack, since he already knew Swift.

"Try making him fall asleep again." answered Chris.

Chris's Jigglypuff did so...and this time, Eevee fell asleep.

"No!" exclaimed Ned.

Suddenly, Jigglypuff started rolling into Ned's Eevee.

"You can use Rollout now?" questioned Chris.

Jigglypuff nodded.

Chris decided to have Jigglypuff forget Defense Curl, since she figured that her Pokemon didn't need it anymore.

Jigglypuff kept on rolling into Eevee, doing more and more damage while he was asleep...

...and eventually, Ned's Eevee fainted.

Ned sighed as he returned his starter Pokemon to his Pokeball and gave Chris some Pokedollars.

"Well, at least your Nidoran evolved." noted Chris.

"Er, yeah." nodded Ned, happy that his Nidoran was now a Nidorina and therefore would be that much stronger in combat.

Chris and Ned both went into Ned's room to recall their poison Pokemon, who as as it turns out were still together.

"I hope you two had fun, but we need you to return to your Pokeballs." noted Chris.

Nidorino and Nidorina sighed as they were returned to their Pokeballs, realizing what she had told them was true.

"How are we going to rest our Pokemon while we're on this ship, anyway? Nurse Joy isn't around..." questioned Ned.

"Er, yeah, about that...I bet we can probably just use our beds..." answered Chris.

"How is that supposed to work?" inquired the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"It's simple...we just rest in our beds and our Pokemon get healed. That's what it says on that poster right above yours..." stated the female Pokemon trainer.

Ned read the poster nearby which said "USE THIS TO RESTORE YOUR POKEMON."

"Oh." realized Ned. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

"Mm-hmm...you use yours and I'll use mine." spoke Chris as she went to her own room.

Ned nodded as he decided to rest. Sure enough, his Pokemon were healed within minutes.

"I personally wonder how that works." thought the dorky Pokemon trainer.

Meanwhile, Chris was resting along with her Pokemon in the room of her own. Apparently the room had been designed based on her tastes, since it was black as ink.

"Yeah...this cruise is going to be awesome...and yet I can't help but shake the feeling that there's going to be a snag sooner or later..." questioned the female Pokemon trainer.

Suddenly, she heard knocking on her door.

"Who's there?" inquired Chris. For some reason, the knocking in question sounded rather obnoxious.

Opening the door, she immediately groaned. It was the same Pokemon trainer that she had gotten her Charmander from.

Oddly enough, now that she thought of it, he very much resembled the many youngsters that were roaming Kanto...only instead of wearing an orange hat and shorts he was wearing green ones, and instead of wearing a blue shirt he was wearing a purple one.

"Hey you! Yeah you! I'm here to reclaim my Charmander!" exclaimed Jerry.

"Didn't your Charmander voluntarily decide to come along with me?" inquired Chris.

"Well, there's no way I'm letting him travel with a weak Pokemon trainer like you! He deserves better than that!" bellowed the unfriendly youngster.

An anger mark appeared on Chris's forehead.

"Are you saying I'm weak?! And that my Charmander shouldn't travel with me because of that?!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

"Of course! I have a new starter Pokemon that's going to rock the socks off your Charmander!" exclaimed Jerry.

"But my Charmander doesn't actually wear socks...anyways, is this a challenge?!" answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Of course it is! It's just you, me, my new Pokemon, and your Charmander!" exclaimed the youngster.

"Right, of course..." nodded Chris.

As before, they decide to battle right outside their rooms. Unfortunately for Chris, Jerry was her next-door neighbor on the cruise.

"Go, Charmander." answered the female Pokemon trainer as she sent out her Charmander. To be honest, she actually wasn't really looking forward to battling with Jerry.

Realizing who he was up against, Charmander began to glare at his former Pokemon trainer. He was just as nasty as ever.

"Hey there! Remember me! You're going back where you belong!" exclaimed the youngster.

"Charmander..." murmured the salamander Pokemon, remembering how abusive his former Pokemon trainer was to him.

"Go, Paras!" exclaimed Jerry, sending out his new Pokemon.

"Paras!" bellowed the parasite Pokemon as he was sent out.

Chris gave Jerry's Paras a scan. For some reason, she got the feeling that his Pokemon didn't stand a chance against a Fire-type.

"Paras, the Mushroom Pokemon. The mushrooms that grow on its back absorb nutrients from their host." explained Chris's Pokedex.

"You sure it's comfortable with that?" asked the female Pokemon trainer.

"Paras par!" exclaimed the mushroom Pokemon. For some strange reason, most Paras actually enjoyed having that happen to them.

Realizing what type of Pokemon Paras was, Chris suddenly began to laugh.

"What's so funny?!" exclaimed Jerry.

"You do realize you just picked the worst possible Pokemon you could use to battle me, am I right?" inquired Chris.

"What?!" bellowed the youngster.

"Isn't it obvious? Your Paras is a grass and a bug type. That means it has a quadruple weakness against fire types." answered Chris.

Sure enough, his Paras was pretty frightened to have to face a fire type.

"Don't be ridiculous! Let's get 'em, Paras!" exclaimed Jerry, pushing Paras towards Charmander.

"Paras!" screeched the parasite Pokemon in horror.

This made Charmander even more angry, recalling how Jerry would push him towards Pokemon he really didn't want to fight.

"Charmander!" exclaimed the fire Pokemon. He personally wanted to wipe that smug grin off his Pokemon trainer's face...though he didn't want to set fire to the ship. That would be a disaster waiting to happen.

"You don't believe me, huh? Well then, I guess you need a demonstration. Use Ember!" exclaimed Chris.

Chris's Charmander did so, roasting Jerry's Paras and taking him out in one shot.

"Paras..." murmured the grass and bug Pokemon.

Jerry was not amused as to how badly his Paras had fared in combat.

"You are absolutely worthless! Why do I even have a Pokemon like you?!" exclaimed the youngster.

Jerry's Paras began to cry. Earlier that week he had made him fight against a Pidgeot, and greedily devoured one of his mushrooms.

"I bet you're not even going to evolve into a Parasect one day!" bellowed the trainer.

"Really, Jerry?" questioned Chris. As before, he was being a really big jerk.

Suddenly, Chris's Charmander walked up to Paras and told him that he would be in much better hands if he became Chris's Pokemon.

Paras nodded, and suddenly, he tapped the release button for Jerry's Pokeball.

"What the-" exclaimed the youngster.

Paras then tapped the button on one of Chris's Pokeballs and captured himself.

"Not again!" bellowed Jerry, who was now feeling an unpleasant sense of deja vu.

"Serves you right for mistreating Pokemon. Speaking of which, thanks for giving me another one!" answered Chris.

"Charmander!" taunted Chris's Charmander.

Jerry ran back to his room, crying his head off all the while. He apparently didn't take losing too well.

"It's not fair! Boohoo! Wah! I'll get you, Chris! I'll get you someday! Mommy!" exclaimed Jerry.

"Sheesh...he makes Ned look like a sumo wrestler..." noted Chris.

Chris's Charmander nodded in agreement. He was glad that he had left Jerry while he had the chance.

Chris decided to tell Ned the good news a few minutes later, knocking on his door.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to rest my Pokemon!" exclaimed Ned.

"Are they still healing?" questioned the tomboy.

Curious, Ned decided to give them a check...oddly enough, they seemed to be rather fine.

"Oh...never mind. You can come in." answered the unmasculine Pokemon trainer.

Chris happily entered Ned's room.

"I encountered Jerry again...he said that he wanted his Charmander back...even though he did nothing to him than treat him like garbage..." answered Chris.

"Really?" questioned Ned. Personally, he wondered if Jerry had gotten in trouble for abusing Pokemon in the past. Then again, Jerry never really seemed to learn from his mistakes.

"Yeah...turns out he was my next-door neighbor on this ship just like you...what were the chances of that?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

"So what did he do?" asked the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Oh, he challenged my Charmander and I to a duel...but guess what? He sent out a Paras to defeat him..." answered Chris.

"A Paras? Aren't those severely weak against fire Pokemon?" inquired Ned.

"I know...I tried to warn him but he just didn't listen. Serves him right." answered Chris.

"Anyways, guess what? His Paras decided to abandon him just like his Charmander did...and now he's one of my Pokemon too..." she continued.

"Really? It's nice of you to take him in." asked Ned.

"Yeah...so, are your Pokemon any stronger after that duel we had earlier? I know mine are." questioned Chris.

"Well, I suppose they got some experience..." answered the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Very good. Smell you later." spoke the female Pokemon trainer.

"I just washed my labcoat..." replied Ned.

"It's just a figure of speech...don't take it literally. Smell you later!" exclaimed Chris.

"OK..." answered her partner.

Chris left Ned's room and went back to her own. Hopefully Jerry would leave her alone for the time being, though she doubted this would be the last she saw of him.

_Meanwhile..._

Lucy and Jake happily walked towards the S.S. Anne, ready to go on a cruise before challenging Lt. Surge.

"It's nice to be able to take a break after so much travelling..." noted Lucy.

Indeed, they had spent quite some time getting their first two badges alone. Going on a Pokemon journey was rather enjoyable, but it did require a lot of running around.

Personally, Lucy was glad that she remembered the bike vouchers her parents when she did. She wondered if she should try thanking them later.

"Yeah..." nodded Jake in agreement. He personally didn't think that he'd actually be able to go on a cruise in his lifetime...but Lucy ultimately proved him wrong.

"Ticket, please." asked the sailor standing in front of the S.S. Anne.

"Sure!" answered Lucy, handing the sailor two tickets for both of them.

"Thank you. Enjoy your cruise, you two." answered the seaman.

Lucy and Jake nodded as they happily boarded the S.S. Anne.

Unbeknowst to them, a nearby Squirtle was lurking in the water...and was looking for a way to board the S.S. Anne.

Why you may ask? Because she had heard that there were valuables on board the ship...and of course some delicious food for Pokemon as well.

She decided that the best way to do was to try to stow away...

...and so she decided to sneak into a certain Pokemon trainer's backpack, which turned out to be Jake.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.

"What is it, Clefairy? We're trying to board the ship here..." noted Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy decided not to tell her. It was probably nothing, though she couldn't help but shake the feeling that they now had a stowaway.

All of a sudden, the Team Rocket Grunt began to feel rather exhausted.

"Why did my backpack get so heavy all of a sudden?" inquired Jake.

Surprisingly enough, the sailor had not actually noticed the Squirtle sneaking her way inside the ship. He was still busy checking Pokemon trainers to see if they had their tickets.

The Squirtle smiled to herself, happy that her plan was going well. S.S. Anne, here she came!

_Were you surprised to hear from Jerry again? You probably thought that he was going to be simply a one-time character..._

_To be honest, I was actually thinking of that myself...but I eventually got a few more ideas as to how I could use him...so, I hope you don't mind Chris continuing to teach him a lesson._

_Of course, if you want me to do, I can make him undergo character development and change him into something else...I'm not going to mutate him into a monster though, so don't ask me to do that._

_In the next chapter, Jake is going to meet a friend...and Jerry is going to make a big mistake._

_So until next time! Peace!_


	21. Chapter 21: Atrocious Pool Party

A Typical Pokemon Journey

_In this chapter, Jerry is going to get yet another Pokemon to help him defeat Chris...but something is going to go wrong...which is a shame, since all of our heroes are going to try to relax in the pool._

_But on the flipside, Jake's going to get a Kanto starter Pokemon...which of course will leave Ned as the only character that doesn't have one of them...heh heh._

_Seriously, Jerry needs to be more mature._

**Chapter 21: Atrocious Pool Party**

Jerry was angrier than ever now that Chris had defeated him twice and had snagged two of his Pokemon. He wanted a Pokemon that would be able to defeat her with ease...but where would he be able to get one?

Suddenly, he noticed that there was a shady-looking salesman on the ship. He was giving away Magikarps for just five hundred Pokedollars.

Though the guests on the cruise ship seemed rather suspicious of him, Jerry decided to pay him a visit anyway.

"Hey there! What are you selling?!" exclaimed Jerry.

"I'm selling Magikarps, the strongest Pokemon of them all!" bellowed the Magikarp salesman.

"Sweet! How much do they cost?" asked the nasty youngster.

"Just five hundred Pokedollars!" answered the salesman.

"Perfect!" nodded the youngster, unaware that he was being tricked.

Reaching into his wallet, he pulled out five hundred Pokedollars, and gave them to a certain con artist.

"Thank you! Here is your Magikarp!" answered the salesman.

Jerry happily accepted his new Pokemon.

"Yes! Now I'm going to finally be able to defeat that lousy teenager and her Charmander! I'll teach him for deserting me! And while I'm at it I'll teach that Paras a lesson too...since you know, he also deserted me." thought Jerry.

He went to find Chris once again...he decided to check her room.

Immediately, he busted down the door.

"Alright! We're battling each other again, whether you like it or not! And this time I'm going to win!" exclaimed Jerry.

But as it turned out, she wasn't in her room. Instead, there was a note. Curious, the youngster decided to give it a note. He decided to give it a read.

"Dear Jerry, since you're inevitably going to be bothering me again about my Charmander deserving a better Pokemon trainer than me (which I personally find ironic considering the fact that I'm pretty sure I'm ten times the Pokemon trainer you are, by the way), I'll be relaxing at the pool."

"Darn it! Just when I needed her, too!" bellowed the cruel Pokemon trainer.

Knowing that usually Chris travelled with a rather nerdy Pokemon trainer that somewhat resembled a scientist, he decided to see if he was still in his room.

However as it turns out, Ned was gone too. Apparently, he had went with Chris so that he could relax in the pool.

"Blast!" he exclaimed. "Well, I might as well start looking."

And so Jerry went to search for Chris and Ned so that he could at long last get his revenge.

Suddenly, he remembered something important.

"Darn it! I need to get my swim trunks!" bellowed the youngster.

And so he went to get his swimsuit.

_Meanwhile..._

"Ugh, this suitcase has been killing me..." thought Jake.

"Since when was it so heavy? You had no problem lifting it before we got on the ship..." noted Lucy.

"I know..." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt. He wondered if there was something at work here.

Suddenly, his suitcase began to shake.

"What the-" he thought.

"I'm starting to get the feeling we might have a stowaway..." questioned Lucy.

Sure enough, a Squirtle jumped out of the suitcase, much to their surprise.

"Squirtle!" exclaimed the turtle Pokemon.

"How'd you get in there?" questioned Jake.

"Squirtle!" answered the wild Squirtle.

"You stowed away?" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt.

"You must have been desperate to get on that ship..." noted Lucy.

"Squirtle!" nodded the water Pokemon.

"So let me get this straight...you've been trying to get on that ship for quite some time now?" asked Jake.

The wild Squirtle nodded.

"Well, you made me worry for a second that I was going to break my back...so I hope you're happy." answered Jake.

The Squirtle dropped her head sadly.

Jake sighed.

"I suppose you can relax on this ship with me if you want to...but no more hitchhiking." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

The wild Squirtle nodded.

"And if it's OK with you, I'll be taking you in as my Pokemon considering the encumbrance you made me go through."

"Squirtle!" answered the stowaway Squirtle. That seemed fair enough.

Jake promptly caught the wild Squirtle in his Pokeball.

"Alright then..." nodded Jake.

The Team Rocket Grunt gave the turtle Pokemon a scan with his Pokedex. As it turns out, this one was a female.

"Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokemon. Though its shell starts off soft in birth, it rapidly begins to harden as it grows up." explained the Pokedex.

"That's nice to know...wait, how do I tell a male Squirtle apart from a female Squirtle anyway?" questioned the Team Rocket Grunt.

"I heard that male Squirtles love wearing shades..." noted Lucy.

"Really?" questioned Jake. "How would they be able to wear those while they swam?"

The female Pokemon trainer shrugged.

Curious, Jake sent out his new Squirtle and showed her a pair of shades. She didn't seem too interested.

"Squirtle?" inquired Jake's Squirtle.

"Yep, this one's a girl." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"You think she would be interested in swimming in the pool? I heard that the ship has one..." noted Lucy.

Jake's Squirtle jumped up and down.

"I'll take that as a yes...though you actually seem pretty fine on land." noted Jake.

Jake's new Kanto starter Pokemon shrugged.

"Alright then...let's go put on our swimsuits." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.

Lucy nodded in agreement.

"I'll just be leaving." answered the female Pokemon trainer, heading to her own room.

Lucy's Clefairy of course stood outside both of their rooms. Oddly enough, she was looking forward to going for a swim too.

_Meanwhile at the pool..._

Ned and Chris were both relaxing at the pool...the former was wearing a pair of white swim trunks, while the latter was wearing a black bikini.

"Why are you dressed in white?" inquired Chris.

"There was a mishap at the dry-cleaners?" asked Ned.

"Fair enough." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"I have to admit, it sure is nice to finally know how to swim." noted the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"I'm sure that will come in handy if you ever fall overboard." nodded Chris.

"What?" inquired Ned.

Suddenly, Ned noticed that there were two girls also swimming in the pool, and he immediately went to flirt with them.

"Hi girls! You're more beautiful than the ocean itself!" exclaimed the flirtacious Pokemon trainer.

Chris promptly splashed Ned in the face for not being able to control his impulses.

"What was that for?!" he exclaimed.

"Quit flirting with so many girls." demanded the female Pokemon trainer.

"It's hard for me to resist..." noted Ned.

"I know..." nodded Chris.

"Hey you! Yeah you!" exclaimed Jerry.

Suddenly, she looked around and discovered that the obnoxious youngster that she had encountered twice before was standing there in his red swim trunks.

"Oh brother. You just won't cut me some slack, now will you?" asked Chris.

"I'm going to crush you! This time I have a Pokemon that's super-effective against your pathetic Charmander! Get ready to lose!" exclaimed Jerry.

"I find that very hard to believe..." answered the unfeminine Pokemon trainer.

"By the way, your bikini sucks!" bellowed the youngster.

"OK..." answered Chris. Why did he hate her swimsuit?

Immediately, he pulled out his Pokeball from his hat.

"Go, Magikarp!" exclaimed Jerry.

Jerry immediately sent out his Magikarp.

Chris began to laugh out loud.

"You know what, you're not even worth my time anymore! Ned, you take care of him!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

"You want me to do it?" asked Ned.

"I'm pretty sure you'll be able to defeat him...I'm pretty sure he only has one Pokemon..." nodded Chris.

"But all I have is my Magikarp..." answered the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

As it turns out, he had taken his fish Pokemon to go for a swim with him.

"Meh, I'm sure you'll be able to beat him. He's that bad." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"If you say so." nodded Ned.

Oddly enough, he got the feeling that Jerry had purchased that Magikarp from the Magikarp Salesman...and had asked much fewer questions than he did.

"Magikarp, use Splash!" commanded the youngster.

Magikarp splashed around, but absolutely nothing happened.

"Hmm, maybe you're right." nodded Ned.

"See, I told you." answered Chris.

"Magikarp, use Tackle!" exclaimed the unmasculine Pokemon trainer.

Magikarp did so, pummeling into Jerry's fellow Magikarp.

"Keep using Splash!" exclaimed Jerry.

Magikarp splashed much more...but as before, nothing happened.

"Keep using Tackle!" ordered Ned.

Ned's Magikarp did so, hitting Jerry's Magikarp once again, who was now feeling rather exhausted.

"Now you're just being pathetic. Use Splash and take down this loser's stupid Magikarp already!" exclaimed Ned.

Jerry's Magikarp did so half-heartedly. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.

"You can do this! Use Tackle!" exclaimed Ned.

Ned's Magikarp did so, striking down jerry's Magikarp and making him faint.

"What do you know, my Magikarp actually managed to win a Pokemon for a change." noted Ned.

"Good for him." answered Chris. Personally she felt that she had already outgrown Jerry...and wondered if her partner would rapidly outgrow him as well.

Rather than being supportive towards his new Magikarp, he instead decided to be abrasive.

"You absolutely disgust me! You can't even fight at all! I bought you from that salesman looking for the best Pokemon ever and yet all I got from him was a wimp!" exclaimed Jerry.

"Just as I thought." murmured Ned.

"Magikarp!" exclaimed the fish Pokemon. Why was his owner being so cruel?

"That does it! I'm releasing you! Have fun fending yourself in the wild!" bellowed the Pokemon-abusing youngster.

"He wouldn't..." whispered Ned.

Pressing the button on his Pokeball, Magikarp was surrounded in a blue light.

"He would." answered Chris.

All of a sudden, Magikarp began to feel rather angry. How dare his trainer treat him like this!

Immediately, he picked up his former Magikarp and threw him into the pool.

"You'll never grow up to be a strong Pokemon! You...are...a...loser!" bellowed Jerry.

His cruelty to Magikarp would prove to be a big mistake.

Overwhelmed by rage by how his former owner had treated him, Magikarp suddenly began to evolve. In the process, he began to rapidly grow in size.

"What the-" exclaimed Jerry.

"Gyarados!" exclaimed Jerry's former Magikarp. He had evolved into a Gyarados.

Ned began to feel very, very frightened. Even Chris of all people looked disturbed.

Fortunately, his Pokedex was waterproof, so he was able to bring it with him to the pool. He immediately gave it a scan.

"Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokemon. Brutally vicious and extremely destructive, it is capable of destroying entire cities." explained the Pokedex.

"What?!" screamed Ned.

Chris began to feel nervous. It was now clear that this Pokemon was capable of single-handedly destroying the ship.

Immediately, everyone on the ship began to run away from the Gyarados. The farther they were from it, the better.

Sure enough, Gyarados was causing a lot of destruction. Already, many things on the ship had been wrecked.

Unfortunately for Jerry, it seemed that he was too dumb to realize that he was in danger.

"Hey there, Gyarados! You are so awesome! How would you like to be my Pokemon partner?!" exclaimed the youngster.

Unfortunately for Jerry, Gyarados immediately recognized his former Pokemon trainer, and he began to feel even more angry than before.

And to make matters worse for him, he now had the chance to get his revenge.

Immediately, he let out a tremendous roar.

"Um, let's talk about it?" inquired Jerry.

Jerry's Gyarados then picked up the youngster by the teeth and started shaking him like a rag doll. All of a sudden, he began to feel rather dizzy.

Gyarados then tossed Jerry overboard.

"Aah!" he exclaimed as he fell into the ocean.

Chris and Ned both gasped in shock at this display of sheer power. Unsurprisingly, Both of them immediately scrambled out of the water.

"What are we going to do?" inquired Chris.

"There's got to be something that we can do to stop it...but I personally have no idea." answered Ned.

Suddenly, they noticed that Magikarp was still in the pool.

"Oh no! Magikarp!" exclaimed the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Immediately, he dove into the water to save him.

"I guess he's braver than I thought..." Chris wondered to herself.

Personally, she thought that maybe she should give Ned a hand...but unfortunately she had not taken any Pokemon with her...not even her Jigglypuff.

"I picked a real bad day to do that..." thought the female Pokemon trainer.

Unfortunately for Ned, Jerry's former Gyarados picked him up by his fangs and started shaking him about as well. Apparently, he was going to do to Ned what he had done to his former Pokemon trainer.

"No!" exclaimed Chris.

Fortunately for Ned, Magikarp noticed what his trainer had done for him and decided that it should give his trainer a reward for risking his life to save him.

Suddenly, he also began to evolve.

"Wait, what?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

Sure enough, Ned's Magikarp had also become a Gyarados.

Immediately, he slammed into the fellow Gyarados that was threatening his Pokemon trainer, causing him to drop Ned harmlessly on the floor.

"Magikarp, is that you?" inquired Ned.

Ned's Gyarados nodded. All of a sudden, a battle between the two Gyarados began.

Suddenly, Lucy and Jake arrived on the scene. Jake was wearing blue swim trunks, while Lucy was wearing a pink one-piece. They immediately noticed that there were two Gyarados fighting in the pool, and wondered what was happening.

"What's going on here?!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Looks like this is some sort of battle..." questioned Jake.

"It sure is intense..." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

Immediately, they began to get rather worried. Were they going to sink the ship?

Sure enough, they were fighting rather viciously. Both of them were significantly injured already, as they had been biting and thrashing into each other.

Ned had exited the pool and was watching his Gyarados battle with Jerry's former Pokemon.

Suddenly, he remembered that Jerry had been tossed overboard, and began to worry about his safety despite the way he had treated his own Pokemon earlier.

As it turns out, Lucy's Clefairy had also noticed, and was trying to get her owner's attention.

"Huh? What is it?" inquired Lucy.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed the fairy Pokemon.

"What? Someone fell overboard?!" bellowed the female Pokemon trainer.

"That's not good..." thought Jake.

Sure enough, Jerry was right at the bottom of the ship...and to make matters worse, he was unable to swim.

"Help me!" exclaimed the youngster.

Lucy immediately sent out her Pidgeotto.

"You need to fly down there and save him!" commanded the female Pokemon trainer.

Lucy's Pidgeotto nodded, and she immediately flew down and grabbed onto Jerry, nearly getting pulled underwater in the process.

Jerry was surprisingly grateful that Lucy had saved him.

"Yes! Thank you for saving me! You're my friend forever!" exclaimed the youngster.

"Um, you're welcome?" asked Lucy.

"Huh, at least he can show gratitude." thought Chris.

As it turns out, Ned's Gyarados had overpowered Jerry's former Gyarados, much to Ned's happiness.

"You did it, Gyarados!" exclaimed the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Ned's Gyarados smiled.

Suddenly, the captain of the ship arrived.

"What is going on here?!" he exclaimed.

Apparently, he had heard from the passengers on the ship that things had gone horribly wrong.

Chris was happy to explain, looking forward to getting revenge on Jerry. She was actually pretty sick of how he was treating Pokemon.

"Well, let's see...Jerry here was abusing his Magikarp...and when it evolved, it became incredibly hostile and started attacking him and my buddy here." explained Chris.

Ned nodded his head in agreement.

"What?!" exclaimed the captain.

He promptly glared at Jerry, realizing that he was responsible for what had happened and the destruction the Gyarados had caused.

Jerry promptly laughed nervously.

"Well then...it looks I'm going to have to kick you off this ship." answered the captain.

"What?!" the youngster exclaimed.

"If you had treated your Magikarp better, it probably wouldn't have evolved into a Gyarados and started attacking the ship, would it not?" he inquired.

"Um..." answered Jerry.

"I can't say I approve of Pokemon abuse on my ship, I'd say. I heard from another passenger that you'd also been abusing your Paras...simply because it lost fights that it couldn't possibly win." answered the captain.

"Uh-oh..." thought the youngster.

"We'll be sending you to your room for the rest of your cruise. Hopefully you'll start treating your Pokemon with respect in the near future." explained the captain.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!" exclaimed Jerry.

Two sailors immediately grabbed the youngster by the arms and dragged him away.

"That's what I would call karma." answered Chris.

Ned nodded his head in agreement, though he wondered if he was going to blame them both for the whole thing.

"I wonder what the guy's problem was?" inquired Lucy.

"Your guess is as good as mine." answered Jake.

About an hour later, the ship arrived back in Vermillion City. Ned recalled his new Gyarados back into his Pokeball. Thankfully, he didn't seem nearly as violent as Jerry's former Gyarados was.

Then again, Ned was rather friendly towards him and had allowed him to go for a swim.

"Well, that cruise sure was refreshing." noted Lucy.

"Yeah...aside from those Gyarados fighting each other...that was rather intense..." noted Jake.

Lucy nodded her head in agreement. If only that youngster had treated his Pokemon better, maybe this all could have been avoided.

"At least I got a new Pokemon out of the cruise." spoke the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Uh-huh!" answered the female Pokemon trainer.

Suddenly, Jake got an idea.

"Say, would you be interested in battling again? I figured we could use a little more training before we battle Lt. Surge..." asked the grunt.

"Sure, why not!" answered Lucy.

"Alright then...I'll send out my Squirtle first." answered Jake.

Immediately, Jake sent out his Squirtle.

"Squirtle!" exclaimed the tiny turtle Pokemon, happy to have her first battle.

"Alright then...I'll send out my Bulbasaur!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Bulbasaur!" bellowed the dinosaur Pokemon.

Jake sighed. Already this battle was off to a bad start.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!" commanded the female Pokemon trainer.

Bulbasaur did so, whipping into Squirtle and doing a large amount of damage.

"Squirtle!" exclaimed the water Pokemon. Those vines really hurt.

Knowing that Bulbasaur would inevitably resist Squirtle's water attacks, Jake decided it was best to try something else.

"Squirtle, use Tackle!" ordered Jake.

Squirtle did so, pummeling into the opposing Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur!" exclaimed the dinosaur Pokemon.

"Use Vine Whip again!" commanded Lucy.

Lucy's Bulbasaur did so, whipping into Squirtle once again. At this point, the latter was feeling rather weak.

"Oh man...keep using Tackle! " demanded Jake.

Jake's Squirtle did so, striking Bulbasaur once again.

Unfortunately, Bulbasaur finished Squirtle off with another vine whip before she could get another attack in.

"Well, I've got five Pokemon left..." thought the Team Rocket Grunt.

This time, he decided to send out a Pokemon that was better-suited to taking down Bulbasaur.

"Go, Zubat!" exclaimed Jake.

"Zubat!" shouted the bat Pokemon.

"Hmm, looks like you're at a disadvantage now, Bulbasaur." noted Lucy.

Lucy's Bulbasaur nodded, though she figured maybe she still had a chance.

"So, do you have any new tricks up your sleeve, Zubat?" questioned Jake.

Jake's Zubat nodded, and struck Lucy's Bulbasaur with his wings. This proved to be super-effective.

"Bulbasaur!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Bulba..." murmured the plant pokemon.

"Oh, looks like you've learned Wing Attack." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

Zubat nodded. Hopefully that would come in handy in case he had to face a Bug Pokemon or a Grass-type like Lucy's Bulbasaur.

Bulbasaur responded by knocking down Zubat...but unfortunately hurt herself in the process.

"Oh! Looks like you've learned Take Down..." answered Lucy.

Lucy decided to make Bulbasaur forget Tackle...since she wouldn't need the move anymore.

Unfortunately for Bulbasaur, Jake had Zubat hit her with another wing attack, causing her to faint.

In order to defeat Zubat, Lucy decided to send out her Kadabra next.

"Go, Kadabra!" she exclaimed as she tossed Kadabra's Pokeball.

"Kadabra!" bellowed the psychic Pokemon, happy to be sent out.

"Use Confusion!" ordered Lucy.

Immediately, Lucy's Kadabra hit Zubat with a psychic attack...this proved to be super effective.

"Zubat!" exclaimed the bat Pokemon.

However, he was still able to fight.

"Use Bite!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Zubat immediately sank his teeth into Kadabra, which suffice to say was rather harmful towards the latter.

"Use Kinesis!" commanded Lucy.

Lucy's Kadabra did so, causing Zubat to lose accuracy.

"Darn it! Now I'm probably going to miss. Well, you might as well use Bite...that's usually effective against Psychic-types." answered Jake.

Zubat nodded and sank his teeth into Kadabra. Fortunately, he did not miss. Unfortunately for Kadabra, he took a lot of damage.

"Kadabra..." murmured the psychic Pokemon.

"You can still do this! Keep using Confusion!" commanded Lucy.

Lucy's Kadabra did so...and Jake's Zubat fainted.

"Well, four more Pokemon to go." answered Jake as he recalled his Zubat.

Since all his other Pokemon were Poison (or a Fighting type in Mankey's case), he decided to send out his trusty pal, Rattata.

"Go, Rattata!" exclaimed Jake.

"Rattata!" bellowed the rat Pokemon.

Immediately, he sank his teeth into Kadabra, causing him to faint.

"Kadabra..." murmured the psychic Pokemon.

"He sure is fast, isn't he?" noted Lucy.

Jake nodded. It was nice to have a rather agile Pokemon for Pokemon battles.

Lucy recalled her Kadabra, and decided to send out Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto!" exclaimed the bird Pokemon.

It became apparent that Jake was now at a disadvantage, since his Rattata hadn't evolved yet.

"Use Gust!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgeotto nodded, and immediately Rattata began to be blown away.

"Rattata!" exclaimed the rat Pokemon.

"Try biting into Pidgeotto!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Rattata nodded, sinking his teeth into Pidgeotto.

Noting that Jake had a Mankey and an Oddish on his team, Lucy decided to take her chances with Whirlwind.

"Use Whirlwind!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgeotto did so, and Rattata was blown away.

Mankey ended up being switched out.

"Mankey?" inquired the monkey Pokemon.

"This isn't good." thought Jake.

"Pidgeotto, use Gust!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgeotto did so, and Mankey started to be spun around.

"Mankey!" exclaimed the monkey Pokemon. Apparently, he really wasn't enjoying this battle.

"Er, use Karate Chop, I guess." answered Jake.

Jake's Mankey did so, chopping into Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto!" exclaimed the bird Pokemon.

"Well, keep using Gust, I guess." ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Pidgeotto did so...suffice to say, it looked as if Mankey wouldn't be able to handle the assault for much longer.

"Mankey..." murmured the monkey Pokemon.

"Use Fury Swipes!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Mankey immediately started scratching into Pidgeotto many different times.

"Pidgeotto..." murmured the bird Pokemon. It looks like Mankey's attacks were starting to take their toll.

Once again, Pidgeotto struck Mankey with a gust of wind...and he fainted.

"Darn it! Now I only have three Pokemon left..." answered Jake.

Jake decided to send out his Rattata again.

"Alright, buddy, let's go!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Rattata nodded.

"Try biting again!" ordered the Team Rocket Grunt.

Rattata once again sank his teeth into Lucy's Pidgeotto.

"Alright then...use Quick Attack!" commanded Lucy.

Pidgeotto struck into Rattata as hard as she could, which proved to be rather effective. Rattata was exhausted.

"Hang in there!" exclaimed Jake.

Suddenly, Rattata began to feel rather...odd.

"Rattata?" inquired the rat Pokemon.

Suddenly, he began to evolve.

"This sure seems to be happening a lot to our Pokemon lately..." noted Jake.

"It's not like it's a bad thing." answered Lucy.

"True..." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.

Sure enough, Jake's Rattata was now a Raticate.

"Raticate!" exclaimed Jake's new Raticate.

Sure enough, Raticate now had a new technique to go with evolving. Immediately, he sank his fangs into Pidgeotto hyperactively.

"Pidgeotto!" exclaimed the bird Pokemon.

"Alright...looks like you've learned Hyper Fang!" congratulated Raticate.

Raticate cheered.

Pidgeotto immediately collapsed on the ground. She had fainted.

"Well, it's three on three now." noted Lucy as she recalled her Pidgeotto.

This time, she decided to send out her Diglett.

"Go, Diglett!" exclaimed the female Pokemon trainer.

"DIglett dig!" bellowed the ground Pokemon.

Jake immediately decided to recall his Raticate so that he could switch to Oddish...but unfortunately Diglett went right in front of the Pokeball to prevent this.

"Diglett!" exclaimed the mole Pokemon.

"That is one smart Diglett." thought the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Alright then, use Scratch!" ordered Lucy.

Diglett did so, scratching into Raticate...and since he was worn out from his battle with Pidgeotto earlier, he fainted.

"Darn it! Just two Pokemon left..." answered Jake as he recalled his Raticate.

He decided to send out his Oddish this time, like he had planned earlier before Diglett interrupted him.

"Go, Oddish!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Oddish!" bellowed the grass Pokemon.

This time, Jake had a type advantage.

"Alright then...use Absorb!" demanded Jake.

Jake's Oddish did so, absorbing energy from Diglett...in this case, it was a pretty significant amount.

"Diglett!" bellowed the mole Pokemon.

"Come on! You can fight it!" commanded Lucy.

Lucy's Diglett did decide to fight, and he began to growl at the enemy Oddish. Oddish immediately began to feel a bit nervous.

"Oddish..." murmured the grass Pokemon.

"Come on, you can fight! Try shooting acid or something..." answered Jake.

Jake's Oddish nodded, and squirted acid at Diglett in order to burn him.

"Diglett!" bellowed the ground Pokemon. This reminded him of the day he was out in the sun for too long.

"Use Absorb again!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Oddish did so, and Diglett fainted.

"Well, now to send out my Butterfree." answered Lucy as she recalled her Butterfree.

"Butterfree!" exclaimed the butterfly Pokemon.

"And I'm at a type disadvantage again." thought Jake.

"Sorry to hear that." sympathized Lucy. "Anyways...use Confusion!"

Lucy's Butterfree did so, striking Jake's Oddish with a psychic attack. Unfortunately, Oddish was part poison-type, so she took extra damage.

"Oddish!" exclaimed the grass Pokemon.

"Um, use Acid I guess." ordered Jake.

Oddish did so, pelting Butterfree with the nasty goo.

"Um, use Confusion again?" inquired Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree did so, and just like that, Jake's Oddish fainted.

"Just one Pokemon left! We can still do this, Grimer!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt.

Of course, Jake sent out his Grimer.

"Grimer!" exclaimed the grime Pokemon. For some strange reason, it felt as if he hadn't battled in a long time. It was nice to finally get some exercise again.

"Use Sludge!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Grimer pelted Butterfree with sludge.

"Oh no! Use Confusion!" commanded Lucy.

Lucy's Butterfree did so, striking Grimer with yet another confusion attack. Why did so many of Jake's Pokemon have to be weak against psychic types?

"I'd probably use Mud-Slap right about now...but since Butterfree is immune to ground-type attacks...toss another round of Sludge!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Grimer once again slung toxic goo, causing Butterfree to collapse to the floor.

"Well, now it's just one on one." answered Lucy.

Immediately, she sent out her Clefairy.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed the fairy Pokemon.

"Um, use Mud-Slap now?" inquired Jake.

Jake's Grimer did so, slinging mud into Clefairy's eyes.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed the psychic Pokemon.

"Use Pound!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy did so, but unfortunately she missed.

"Grimer!" cheered Jake's starter Pokemon.

"Now use Sludge again!" ordered Jake.

Jake's Grimer did so, hurling sludge at Clefairy. At this point, she was feeling rather weak.

However, she managed to rub the mud and sludge out of her eyes.

"Use Metronome!" ordered Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy did so...and shot Jake's Grimer with a destructive blast of psychic energy.

Jake's Grimer fainted.

Jake was rather surprised to see the very least. Lucy had actually managed to defeat him this time.

"Er, well done?" answered the Team Rocket Grunt as he recalled his Grimer.

"Thank you! Let's go heal our Pokemon and get our third gym badges!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Sure, why not. At least my Rattata managed to evolve..." answered Jake.

And so Jake and Lucy went to heal up their Pokemon so that they could both challenge Lt. Surge.

_So, what did you think? I know that this chapter was a bit more action-based than usual...but at least Jerry got what he deserved..._

_So, do you want him to come back? Or do you think he's been in this story long enough? You can let me know if you want..._

_In the next chapter, Ned is going to try to battle Lt. Surge...hopefully he'll be a little nicer than he was before._

_Goodbye!_


	22. Chapter 22: A Shocking Victory

A Typical Pokemon Journey

In this chapter, our heroes are going to be battling Lt. Surge (except for Chris, since she already defeated him, of course) and will be getting their third badges...

Yes, this includes Ned, even though he lost against him earlier...isn't that just fine?

**Chapter** **22**: **A** **Shocking Victory**

Lucy and Jake stood outside the Vermillion Gym, ready to challenge Lt. Surge and win the Thunder Badge.

"Ladies first?" inquired Jake.

"I think you should go first, actually." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Sure..." nodded the Team Rocket Grunt.

Jake stepped into the Vermillion Gym. Oddly enough, the gym leader seemed rather upset about something...

"Er, what's the matter?" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt.

"I lost horribly against a rookie Pokemon trainer..." answered Lt. Surge.

"Really?" asked Jake.

"Yeah...she used one of my own rules against me..." noted the lieutenant.

Curious, the Team Rocket Grunt decided to give the rules a read.

"There sure are a lot of them." noted Jake.

"You got a problem with that?!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

The Team Rocket Grunt raised an eyebrow.

"Are all these rules really neccessary? You said yourself that one of the trainers used them against you..." inquired Jake.

"Hmm..." thought Lt. Surge. The thought had actually never occurred to him.

"Whatever! You're here to challenge me, aren't you! Get ready to be crushed!" exclaimed the lieutenant.

"We'll see about that..." answered Jake.

Lt. Surge sent out his Pikachu.

"Zap this boy's Pokemon into the ground!" demanded the lieutenant.

"Pika pi!" answered Lt. Surge's Pikachu.

"Funny, I heard that this Pokemon is insanely popular...I could never really understand why." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Let's see now...I know that I shouldn't send out my Squirtle...I know! I'll send out my Oddish!" he exclaimed.

Sure enough, Jake sent out his Oddish.

"Odd!" exclaimed the plant pokemon.

"You're sending a vegetable to defeat me? Don't make me laugh!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

"You do realize that grass Pokemon can resist electricity, am I right?" inquired Jake.

"Um..." answered the lieutenant.

"Anyways, now where we? Ah yes...why don't you try shooting Acid!" the Team Rocket Grunt exclaimed.

Jake's Oddish did so, spewing acid at Pikachu and causing burns.

"Pika pi!" exclaimed the mouse Pokemon.

"You're tougher than that! Hit him with Thundershock!" bellowed the gym leader.

"Odd?" inquired the plant Pokemon.

"My Oddish is a girl." answered Jake.

Lt. Surge sweatdropped.

"Alright then...hit her with Shock Wave!" answered the lieutenant.

Lt. Surge's Pikachu hit Oddish with a surge of electricity...but she wasn't hurt too much.

"Oddish?" inquired the plant pokemon.

"Hmm...seems he didn't heed my warning." noted Jake.

"Oh c'mon! You can do better than that!" answered Lt. Surge.

"Pika pi?" inquired the mouse Pokemon. He had hit Oddish with as much electricity as he could muster.

"Right then...why don't you try draining his energy?" inquired Jake.

Jake's Oddish did so, causing Pikachu to start to feel weak.

"Pika pi..." murmured the mouse Pokemon.

"Oddish!" cheered the grass Pokemon. Apparently, all the damage Pikachu had caused with his Thundershock had now been undone.

"Don't tell me you're losing to this...radish! Hit her with Quick Attack!" bellowed the nasty gym leader.

Pikachu did so, striking Oddish with a rather rapid attack.

"You OK, Oddish?" inquired Jake.

Oddish nodded.

"Guess you won't need to use Absorb again this time...so instead...keep using Acid!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Oddish did so, shooting acid at Pikachu once again. This time, Lt. Surge's Pikachu fainted.

"What? This is just embarrasing! I thought I raised you better than this!" exclaimed the gym leader.

Lt. Surge sighed.

"Well, guess I'm going to have to send out Voltorb now." answered the lieutenant as he recalled the mouse Pokemon.

"Voltorb!" bellowed the Pokemon with an uncanny resemblance to a Pokeball as he was sent out.

"Strange, for a moment there I thought you sent out another Pokeball..." questioned Jake.

"Why the heck would I send out another Pokeball?!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

"Maybe there's strange Pokeballs out there that can actually capture other Pokeballs...and can fly around on their own to make catching Pokemon easier..." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Don't be silly! That's just ridiculous!" bellowed the lieutenant.

"Eh, maybe you're right." acknowledged Jake.

"Sheesh...who would even design those anyway? Some crazy Pokemon that wants to see the world burn?" thought the Gym Leader to himself.

"Voltorb, use Shock Wave!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Voltorb did so, striking Oddish with electricity...but as before it didn't hurt her too much.

"Oddish?" inquired the plant Pokemon.

"You just repeated your previous mistake." noted Jake.

"Ugh!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

"Sheesh, I'm starting to wonder if his ego is working towards a disadvantage..." thought the Team Rocket Grunt.

However, Oddish was starting to feel rather tired.

"Er, try using Absorb again..." answered Jake.

The grass Pokemon did so, damaging Voltorb and healing some of her energies.

"Try using...Sonicboom!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

Voltorb did so, striking Oddish with a blast of sonic waves.

"Oh dear, that attack might be a problem...use Acid again!" exclaimed Jake.

Jake's Oddish pelted Voltorb with acid.

"Use Sonicboom...again!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Voltorb nodded, and Oddish fainted.

"Well, you did pretty well...good job." answered Jake as he recalled his Oddish.

"Oddish." answered the odd Pokemon.

"Let's see now...I know that I shouldn't use my Squirtle...since she's a water type...nor should I use my Zubat...since he's a flying type...I know! I'll use my Mankey!" exclaimed Jake.

"Is he a man?" inquired Lt. Surge.

"Well, he is called a Mankey...so I bet he is." answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"He better be." answered the lieutenant.

"Right..." nodded Jake.

Immediately, he flung Mankey's Pokeball.

"Mankey!" exclaimed the monkey Pokemon.

"Why is he wearing a hat?" asked the gym leader.

"Long story..." answered Jake.

"Whatever! Voltorb, use Shock Wave!" demanded Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Voltorb immediately struck Mankey with lightning...immediately he got very angry.

"Mankey!" bellowed the fighting Pokemon.

"Use Karate Chop!" demanded Jake.

Jake's Mankey immediately chopped into Voltorb as hard as he could...which was enough to make Voltorb faint.

"Voltorb..." murmured the orb Pokemon.

"Oh c'mon! Now I'm going to have to send out my Raichu..." answered Lt. Surge.

"Your Raichu?" inquired Jake.

"Yeah! He's going to mop the floor with you and your loser Pokemon!" exclaimed the lieutenant.

"You really think my Pokemon are losers after the fact they defeated two of your Pokemon?" inquired Jake.

"Whatever!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

Pulling out a Pokeball, he sent out his Raichu.

"Raichu!" bellowed the mouse Pokemon.

"Hahaha! I suggest that you surrender!" bellowed the lieutenant.

"But if I do that, I won't be able to get the Thunder Badge..." answered Jake.

"True..." nodded the lieutenant.

"Alright then. Mankey, use Fury Swipes!" demanded the Team Rocket Grunt.

Mankey did so, clawing into Raichu several different times and leaving scratch marks.

"Raichu!" bellowed the electric Pokemon.

"C'mon! Just zap him already!" commanded Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Raichu did so, striking Mankey with a powerful surge of electricity.

"Mankey!" bellowed the monkey Pokemon.

"Yikes...his Raichu is pretty tough..." noted Jake.

Immediately, Mankey began to pant heavily.

"And my Mankey can't take much more of this..." continued the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Mankey..." murmured the monkey Pokemon.

"Hang in there!" ordered Jake.

Mankey nodded.

"Alright then...use Karate Chop again!" demanded the Team Rocket Grunt.

Mankey did so, chopping into Lt. Surge's Raichu and doing a significant amount of damage.

"Raichu!" exclaimed the electric Pokemon.

"You're a million times better than this primate! Finish him with Mega Punch!" demanded the lieutenant.

Lt. Surge's Raichu did so, punching into Mankey as hard as he could. This inevitably resulted in him fainting.

"Well, now it's one-on-one." noted Jake.

"Darn right! Prepare to meet your maker!" answered Lt. Surge.

"You can tell him that I said hi. Go, Grimer!" exclaimed the Team Rocket Grunt as he sent out his last Pokemon for the match.

"Grimer!" exclaimed the sludge Pokemon.

"You're sending sludge to fight me? It looks like you've reached the end of your rope!" answered Lt. Surge.

"That's what you think. Grimer, use Sludge!" demanded Jake.

Grimer did so, hurling sludge at Raichu.

"Raichu!" bellowed the big mouse Pokemon.

Sure enough, he ended up being poisoned.

"Rai..." murmured Lt. Surge's Raichu.

"What? You've been poisoned?! Darn it! Now I'm going to have to get an antidote..." noted Lt. Surge.

Raichu dropped his head sadly.

"Do you have one on you?" inquired Jake.

"As a matter of fact, I don't." he answered.

"Sorry to hear that then!" answered the Team Rocket Grunt.

"I don't need your sympathy! Hit him with Shock Wave!" demanded Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Raichu once again attacked with a devastating surge of electricity...which knocked the breath right out of Grimer.

"Grimer!" bellowed the sludge Pokemon.

"Come on! You can pull through this! Use Mud-Slap!" demanded Jake.

Jake's Grimer did so, hurling sludge into Raichu.

"Raichu!" bellowed the electric Pokemon.

"Hit him with your Mega Punch!" demanded Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Raichu did so...and boy, did his punch pack a whallop.

At this point, Grimer was almost fainted.

"Grimer..." murmured the poison Pokemon, who was feeling very weak.

But at that very moment, Lt. Surge's Raichu fainted.

"What?! No!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

"Sorry lieutenant, but it looks like you lost. Maybe next time you shouldn't be so cocky." pointed out the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Bah! You got lucky! I dare you to try rematching me next time! I'll wipe the floor with you!" he exclaimed.

Lt. Surge handed Jake the Thunder Badge despite the fact that he was so surprised that he had lost...along with a generous amount of prize money.

"To be honest, I'm not so sure that luck had everything to do with it..." noted Jake.

"Whatever! Just go already!" exclaimed the lieutenant.

"Fine! Your ego was beginning to annoy me anyway. Sheesh...Pokemon battling is just a sport...stop taking it so seriously..." answered the Team Rocket Grunt as he left.

"I guess being in the military warped his mind or something." thought Jake as he left the gym.

"Did you win?" inquired Lucy.

"Yes, I did...but Lt. Surge was so annoying...he was so full of himself." answered the now three-time gym victor.

"That doesn't sound too pleasant." noted the wealthy Pokemon trainer.

"After I defeated him, he said that I had gotten lucky and that if I ever try battling him again he'll sweep through my whole team." answered Jake.

"Wow..." nodded Lucy.

"I'm personally glad that you're a fair sport when it comes to Pokemon battling..." noted the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Yeah...well, I guess it's my time to battle him. Wish me luck!" exclaimed Lucy.

Jake gave Lucy the thumbs up as she entered the gym.

Sure enough, Lt. Surge had already healed his Pokemon and had gotten them back into shape. Apparently he knew a fair bit about military first aid.

"Oh, would you look at that? A little girl's come to challenge me! How pathetic!" exclaimed the gym leader.

"Sheesh...Jake wasn't kidding." noted Lucy.

"So, are you ready for your Pokemon to be sent to the Pokemon Center?!" Lt. Surge exclaimed.

"Hey! Treat my Pokemon with respect!" demanded the girl.

"Why should I? I bet that they can't even fight!" answered the lieutenant.

Lucy sighed.

"What's that? You don't believe me! Alright then, allow me to show you the immense power of my Pokemon! Go, Pikachu!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

"Pika pi!" exclaimed the electric Pokemon.

"Aww...look at how adorable it is!" exclaimed Lucy.

"What? It's not adorable! It's a weapon of mass destruction!" bellowed Lt. Surge.

"I still think it's adorable." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

"Oh really? Why don't you send out a Pokemon to battle it then!" answered the lieutenant.

"Um, sure..." nodded Lucy.

Immediately, Lucy decided to send out her Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur!" exclaimed the grass Pokemon.

"Funny, the last challenger I faced also used a grass-type against me...but no matter! Get ready to be creamed!" bellowed Lt. Surge.

"Does this mean I'm going to get ice cream?" asked Lucy curiously.

"Ice cream is for babies! Pikachu, use Shock Wave!" bellowed Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge did so, but Bulbasaur did not take much damage.

"Bulbasaur?" inquired the plant Pokemon. That surge of electricity did not hurt nearly as much as she thought it would.

"Darn it! I made the same mistake twice..." he grumbled.

"You did?" inquired Lucy.

Lt. Surge continued to grumble to himself.

"Use Vine Whip!" commanded the female Pokemon trainer.

Bulbasaur immediately whipped into Pikachu, doing a significant amount of damage.

"Pika pi!" exclaimed the mouse Pokemon.

"Fight like a man! Use Quick Attack!" demanded the lieutenant.

Lt. Surge's Pikachu immediately rammed into Bulbasaur with lightning speed.

"Bulba!" exclaimed the grass Pokemon.

"I can see why they call it Quick Attack..." noted Lucy.

"Darn right!" answered Lt. Surge.

"Bulbasaur, use Take Down!" demanded the female Pokemon trainer.

Bulbasaur knocked Pikachu to the ground, causing him to faint instantly.

"Pika pika..." murmured the electric Pokemon.

"Wow..." answered Lucy.

Unfortunately, Bulbasaur ended up hurting herself in the process.

"Bulba!" exclaimed the dinosaur Pokemon.

"Hmm...looks like you've learned Take Down..." noted Lucy.

Bulbasaur nodded.

"It's too bad that you hurt yourself using it..." acknowledged the female Pokemon trainer.

Bulbasaur nodded once again.

"My next Pokemon is going to pulverize you! Go, Voltorb!" bellowed the lieutenant.

Tossing his Pokeball, he sent out his Pokeball.

"Why did you send out another Pokeball to attack me?" inquired Lucy.

"That's not a Pokeball! It's a Pokemon, little girl!" yelled Lt. Surge.

"What?" inquired the female Pokemon trainer.

Curious, Lucy noticed that for some strange reason, the "Pokeball" had eyes and a mouth.

"That's kind of unsettling..." murmured Lucy.

"Are you scared, little girl?!" exclaimed the lieutenant.

Lucy sighed.

"Just take it down, Bulbasaur." answered the female Pokemon trainer.

Bulbasaur did so, slamming into Voltorb and doing a large amount of damage...but once again, she took damage.

"Bulba..." murmured the dinosaur Pokemon. All of a sudden, she was feeling rather weak. Apparently the fierce battling was starting to take its toll.

"Perfect! Finish her off with a Sonicboom!" demanded Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Voltorb nodded, and hit Bulbasaur with a blast of sonic waves. She fainted.

"Bulba..." murmured the dinosaur Pokemon.

For some strange reason, Lucy thought that she should try sending out her Clefairy second for a change. Since Voltorb was very much like a Pokeball...and since her Clefairy was experienced with technology...why not?

"Go, Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Clef?" inquired Lucy's Clefairy. She was personally expecting her trainer to save her for last.

"Alright Clefairy...use Metronome!" demanded the female Pokemon trainer.

Clefairy nodded, and started to shake her hands back and forth. Immediately, they started to glow.

All of a sudden, a crack began to appear in the ground...

"Voltorb!" exclaimed the orb Pokemon.

Unfortunately for Lt. Surge's Voltorb...it didn't notice the fissure until it was too late, and it fell straight in.

"No!" exclaimed the lieutenant.

By the time it had finally hit the bottom, Voltorb had already fainted.

"Grr! I will not lose!" exclaimed Lt. Surge as he recalled his Pokemon.

Oddly enough, the fissure began to mend itself shortly afterwards. Lucy found this to be quite fortunate, as she didn't look forward to the idea of having to pay for the damages that her Clefairy had caused.

Then again, she was pretty well off.

"Raichu, it's time for you to end this, once and for all!" exclaimed Lt. Surge as he sent out his Raichu.

"Raichu!" bellowed the electric Pokemon.

"Yikes...he sure looks tough..." noted Lucy.

Lucy's Clefairy nodded in agreement...She had the feeling that she wouldn't be as lucky as she was against Voltorb.

After all, Fissure was horribly inaccurate.

"Keep using Metronome!" demanded her trainer.

Sure enough, Lucy's Clefairy began to wave her hands once more...and this time, she kicked mud in Raichu's eyes.

"Raichu!" bellowed the electric Pokemon.

"What's this? It seems that you're trying to lower my Raichu's accuracy...too bad his Shock Wave technique always hits!" shouted Lt. Surge.

Lucy's Clefairy sighed. For some strange reason, it was always no use to try to avoid that particular attack.

Then again, the same applied to moves such as Swift and Aerial Ace. She didn't really understood how those moves worked.

"Raichu, use Shock Wave!" demanded Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Raichu nodded, and shot a huge surge of electricity at Clefairy.

"Clefairy!" exclaimed the fairy Pokemon.

To make a long story short...Clefairy got hit bad.

"Clefairy..." murmured the fairy Pokemon, who was feeling rather exhausted.

"Do you have room for one more attack?" questioned Lucy.

Clefairy nodded. In fact, she decided to try something different.

Immediately, she slapped Raichu in the face...really hard.

"Raichu!" bellowed the electric Pokemon.

"Come on! All she did was slap you!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

"Hmm...maybe you should try that move while your opponent is sleeping...then again, I don't think you have any moves that can make your opponent fall asleep..." noted Lucy.

"Clefairy..." murmured Lucy's Pokemon.

"Finish her off with Mega Punch!" demanded the gym leader.

Raichu did so, causing Clefairy to collapse on the ground.

"Clefairy..." murmured the alien.

For some strange reason, Lucy got the feeling that she should try sending out her Diglett next.

"Well, here goes." answered the female Pokemon trainer as she moved her Clefairy out of the battlefield.

Immediately, she sent out her mole Pokemon.

"Diglett!" exclaimed the ground Pokemon. Apparently he was looking forward to getting to participate in his first gym battle.

"Raichu, use Shock Wave!" demanded Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Raichu did so, hitting Diglett with an immense surge of electricity...

...but for some strange reason, he didn't feel a thing.

"Diglett?" inquired the mole Pokemon.

"Hmm...looks like my Diglett is immune to your electric attacks..." answered Lucy.

"What?! No!" exclaimed Lt. Surge. All of a sudden, he got the feeling that he was in very big trouble.

"Use Magnitude!" demanded Lucy.

Lucy's Diglett did so, shaking the earth and doing immense damage to Raichu.

"Raichu!" bellowed the mouse Pokemon. Apparently, he wasn't nearly as good at defending himself than he was at attacking.

"Great job, Diglett! You can do this!" cheered his owner.

"Diglett!" exclaimed the mole Pokemon. It was good to see that his first gym battle was going very well. Then again, he was a ground type.

"Raichu, use Mega Punch! Don't fail me now!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Raichu did so, swinging his fist at Diglett...

...but he dug underground, and the attack missed.

"Aargh!" the gym leader bellowed.

"Use Magnitude again!" demanded Lucy.

Lucy did so...Raichu immediately was knocked off his feet...

...and in just a few seconds, he was KOed by the tremors.

Realizing what had happened, Lt. Surge did not take his loss well.

"Impossible! I can't be defeated by a little girl! How could this possibly happen?!" exclaimed the lieutenant.

"Is something the matter?" questioned Lucy.

Immediately, he began to cry like a baby.

"Wah! Boohoo!" exclaimed the lieutenant.

Lucy generously offered Lt. Surge some tissues while her Diglett eagerly took the Thunder Badge and handed it to his trainer.

"I think we should leave him be...he seems really upset about something..." noted Lucy.

Lucy's Diglett nodded as the duo left the building.

"So, did you win?" inquired Jake.

"Yes, I did...though oddly enough it wasn't because of my Clefairy...not for lack of trying though...you should have seen the fissure that she made!" exclaimed Lucy.

"It's too bad that all these gym battles aren't televized like the ones in the Indigo Conference..." noted Jake.

"Yes, I know..." answered Lucy. "My Diglett did awesome!"

"Really? And to think that this was his first gym battle..." noted Jake.

"Uh-huh! Now let's head to Celadon City!" exclaimed Lucy.

The Team Rocket Grunt gasped in astonishment.

"Did you just say...Celadon City?!" inquired the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Yes I did, why do you ask?" asked Lucy.

Knowing that was where the Team Rocket Headquarters was located, Jake obviously wasn't looking forward to Lucy going there.

"Er, don't you want to head somewhere else? There's a lot of sightseeing we can do in Kanto, you know!" bellowed the Team Rocket Grunt.

"But Celadon City is the closest..." answered Lucy.

Jake sighed. There was no way to explain the situation to her without blowing his cover.

"Fine...I guess we can go to Celadon City...but can we not stay there for long?" he inquired.

"Sure, why not! I think that defeating the next gym leader won't be too much of a hassle...we're getting so many Pokemon and all..." noted Lucy.

"Um, yeah..." answered Jake.

And so Jake reluctantly decided to go to Celadon City with Lucy.

Meanwhile...

Lt. Surge couldn't believe what had just happened over the last few gym battles he had. Not only had been defeated by his own rules, he had been defeated by a little girl.

"I'm the toughest Gym Leader around! How could I be defeated so easily?!" he exclaimed.

On the other hand, he did get to pulverize that nerd and his team of Pokemon...so at least he managed to score one victory.

Still, he began to wonder if he should stop being such a sore loser. Didn't one of the Pokemon trainers he lost against tell him that Pokemon battling was just a sport?

"Maybe I should start being a fair sport for a change..." he thought.

Oddly enough, his Raichu always seemed to take losing well...then again, he actually managed to win most of his fights.

Maybe he should start being more like him and start treating his opponents with respect.

Come to think of it, he had heard just recently that there was a rather nasty Pokemon trainer that had spent his time abusing his Magikarp simply because it had done poorly in combat...and that not too long ago he had also sent his Charmander and his Paras out against impossibly odds simply because he couldn't stand forfeiting.

He had even gotten banned from the S.S Anne of all things. Apparently, they weren't amused when his Magikarp evolved into a Gyarados and began to wreak havoc because of the mistreatment.

It was all in a copy of the New Vermillion Times.

Suddenly, he noticed that the newspaper also told about how a boy had tried to save his Magikarp from said Gyarados...and that it had evolved into a Gyarados to protect him.

Curious, he decided to take a closer look...and discovered that it was the same boy that he had taunted previously for not being a man.

"Hmm...maybe I was wrong about him..." he thought.

Maybe if he ever tried rematching him he could try not to be so cruel to him this time? It would take guts for him to face him again after what had happened earlier, after all.

"Maybe I have been too arrogant for my own good..." wondered the lieutenant.

On the other hand, he personally found it amusing that his partner was a better Pokemon trainer than he was despite being female.

Apparently, not all girls wanted to play with their Pokemon or wear dresses, it seemed.

"You know what? I'm going to try turning over a new leaf for a change...from now on, I'm going to be a better man!" he thought.

And so he decided to change the way he treated the Pokemon trainers that challenged him.

A few minutes later...

"So, do you think I'm ready to challenge Lt. Surge again?" inquired Ned.

"You tried to save your Magikarp from the most ferocious Pokemon in the history of ever, so yes." answered Chris.

Ned took a deep breath.

"Alright then, here it goes!" exclaimed Ned.

Immediately, he entered the gym.

Oddly enough, Lt. Surge seemed rather happy to see him.

"So, are you ready to challenge me again?" inquired the lieutenant.

Ned raised an eyebrow.

"Funny, I was expecting you to insult me about not being manly enough..." questioned the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Lt. Surge sighed.

"Let's just get our rematch over with, will you? I've got a schedule to keep here." answered the lieutenant.

"Right, of course!" answered Ned nervously.

Suddenly, his Gyarados popped out of his Pokeball.

"Gyarados!" bellowed the atrocious Pokemon.

Apparently, he had detected that there was a gym leader in his proximity...and he couldn't resist the urge to battle him.

"Er, are you sure you want to battle this guy? In case you haven't noticed, he's an electric-type gym leader...and since you're both a water and a flying type Pokemon..." noted Ned.

"Gyarados!" bellowed the water Pokemon.

"What's this? You're going to battle him anyway? Well, don't say I didn't warn you though..." answered the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Gyarados!" screeched the flying Pokemon.

"What? I'm not doubting you, I'm just saying that you should be careful about who you pick fights with!" answered Ned.

"Gyarados..." grumbled the enormous Pokemon.

"Sheesh...he sure has gotten a temper...I hope that he doesn't go on a rampage..." thought Ned.

Again, Lt. Surge began to regret not thinking Ned was a man...he was surprisingly capable of keeping his Gyarados under control.

"Alright then...Pikachu, let's ride." spoke Lt. Surge as he threw a Pokeball.

"Pika pi!" exclaimed the mouse Pokemon.

"Alright then...Gyarados, use Bite!" commanded Ned.

Gyarados did so, sinking his teeth into Pikachu. This must have a done a lot of damage, as Pikachu began to panic.

"Pika pi! Pika pika!" screamed the electric Pokemon. Why did he have to face an opponent so huge?

"C'mon! Pull yourself together! You're facing a water type for crying out loud!" demanded Lt. Surge.

"Pika pi..." murmured the electric Pokemon.

"Use Shock Wave!" demanded Lt. Surge.

Unfortunately for Pikachu, he seemed too nervous to actually attack.

Lt. Surge simply sighed. Ned began to wonder why he wasn't yelling at his Pokemon...

...then again, he had heard enough of that from Jerry already.

"Gyarados, use Tackle!" demanded the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Gyarados did so, pummeling into Pikachu, knocking him out instantly.

"Pika pika..." murmured Pikachu as he fainted.

"I'm really starting to eat my words earlier..." murmured Lt. Surge.

Recalling his Pikachu, Lt. Surge once again decided to send out his Voltorb.

"Go, Voltorb!" bellowed the lieutenant.

"Voltorb!" exclaimed the orb Pokemon.

Immediately, the Pokeball-like Pokemon saw Gyarados...and it immediately became very nervous.

"Voltorb..." murmured the orb Pokemon.

"Great...my Voltorb's frightened of that Gyarados too..." noted Lt. Surge.

Unfortunately, Voltorb was too nervous to attack at the moment, causing the lieutenant to sigh.

"Gyarados, use Thrash!" demanded Ned.

Gyarados did so, pummeling into Voltorb as hard as he could.

"Voltorb!" exclaimed the electric Pokemon.

Fortunately for Lt. Surge, this actually caused Voltorb to decide to fight back, though by then he had taken a large amount of damage already.

"Use Sonicboom!" demanded the lieutenant.

Unfortunately for Lt. Surge, he forgot about Gyarados's severe type disadvantage.

Immediately, Gyarados was struck by the sonic wave...but this only seemed to make the atrocious Pokemon angrier if anything else.

"Gyarados!" bellowed the atrocious Pokemon.

As before, he thrashed into Voltorb, causing him to faint.

Lt. Surge gasped in shock. That Gyarados had actually managed to defeat two of his Pokemon in a row! Now all that was left was his Raichu...

Granted...his Raichu was rather powerful...but he got the feeling that he wouldn't be able to defeat three of Ned's Pokemon by himself at this point.

Nonetheless, he decided to keep fighting until the end...that's what a loyal soldier would do, after all.

"Go, Raichu!" bellowed the lieutenant.

"Raichu!" exclaimed the Pokemon.

Raichu immediately saw what his opponent was...and immediately became rather nervous. Nonetheless, he decided to fight anyway.

"Finally! Take down this Gyarados once and for all...before it wrecks my gym." noted Lt. Surge.

"You're not going to wreck his gym, are you?" inquired Ned.

"Gyarados..." murmured the atrocious Pokemon.

"You can try? I sure hope that you succeed then..." noted the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Immediately, Gyarados pummeled into Raichu, doing a significant amount of damage.

"Raichu!" bellowed the electric Pokemon.

However, a few seconds later, Gyarados started to feel rather woozy.

"Gyarados..." murmured the atrocious Pokemon. Apparently that particular attack had sucked the energy out of him.

"Finally! Use Shock Wave!" commanded Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Raichu hit Gyarados with a large blast of electricity, causing an extreme amount of damage.

"Gyarados!" bellowed the water Pokemon.

"Gyarados, use Bite!" demanded Ned.

Ned's Gyarados tried to do so...but thanks to the confusion he hurt himself instead, and he was knocked out.

"Well, you did pretty well considering the fact that you had a type disadvantage." noted Ned as he recalled his Gyarados.

Ned decided to send out his Eevee this time.

"Watch out for his electric attacks this time." explained Ned.

Ned's Eevee nodded.

"Alright then...hit him with Swift!" demanded the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Eevee did so, pummeling Raichu with several different stars.

"Raichu!" bellowed the mouse Pokemon.

"Raichu!" exclaimed Lt. Surge in astonishment.

Raichu was now feeling very exhausted.

"Rai..." murmured the orange mouse Pokemon.

"I'm on the ropes...who would have thought it?" thought Lt. Surge.

"Hit him with Shock Wave!" demanded the lieutenant.

Raichu did so, striking Eevee with a nasty surge of electricity...

...but this time, he endured.

"Eevee!" exclaimed the rabbit Pokemon.

"Way to go, Eevee!" cheered Ned. "Now use Quick Attack!"

Immediately, Eevee began to charge towards Raichu.

"Use Mega Punch!" commanded Lt. Surge.

Lt. Surge's Raichu did, swinging his fist at the same time Eevee attacked him...

...which resulted in a double knockout.

"Did we just have a stalemate?" inquired Ned.

"Yes...but since you had one Pokemon left...it looks like I lose. Congratulations, you proved yourself to be a man!" cheered Lt. Surge.

"Funny, you seem a lot nicer now than when I battled you earlier..." noted Ned.

"I decided to mend my ways after hearing that story of that obnoxious Pokemon trainer that mistreated his Magikarp...well that and I was actually getting a bit tired of throwing a tantrum whenever I lost..." answered Lt. Surge.

"Yeah..." answered Ned.

"Congratulations, here is your Thunder Badge and your prize money...and to make it up to you, I'll be throwing in something extra." answered Lt. Surge.

"Is it a TM?" questioned the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Actually, it's this." spoke the lieutenant.

Immediately, he handed him a Pokeball.

"Is this a Pokemon?" questioned Ned.

"As a matter of fact, it is! Now you can have an electric Pokemon of your own!" exclaimed Lt. Surge.

"It wouldn't happen to be a Pikachu, now would it?" inquired the dorky Pokemon trainer.

Lt. Surge nodded.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Ned.

"Now go on ahead and tell your friend about it...she wiped the floor with me, so I'm sure she'll be happy to hear the news." noted Lt. Surge.

"Um...sure..." nodded the Pokemon trainer.

Sure enough, Chris was rather happy to see that he had gotten the badge, though she seemed a bit surprised.

"You actually defeated Lt. Surge? Awesome!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah...he also gave me a Pikachu..." answered Ned.

Sure enough, he decided to see his new Pokemon. According to the Pokedex, this one was male, much like Chris's Charmander.

"Pika pi!" exclaimed the mouse Pokemon.

"Huh, I wish I got a Pokemon when I defeated that guy..." noted Chris.

Suddenly, Ned recalled something about Pikachus that sounded rather relevant.

"Hey there...er, you wouldn't happen to not like being in a Pokeball, now would you? I heard that some Pikachus are claustrophobic..." asked the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

"Pika pi?" inquired the Pikachu.

"Never mind then." answered Ned.

Oddly enough, he also heard for some strange reason Pikachus also loved to eat tomatoes...and by extension they loved ketchup.

Maybe he could take his Pikachu to a restaurant later?

"So, are you ready to go on an adventure with me?" inquired Ned.

"Pika pi!" exclaimed the Pikachu.

"Alright then...back into the Pokeball you go." answered the nerdy Pokemon trainer.

Ned immediately recalled his Pikachu back into the Pokeball.

"Funny...I heard that sometimes Professor Oak gives out Pikachu in the event that someone arrives late to his lab..." noted Chris.

"I'm never late to my dad's lab! He needs me!" answered Ned.

"Right...let's head to Celadon City now, OK?" answered the tomboyish Pokemon trainer.

Ned nodded his head.

And so the two decided to head to Celadon City...though before they did that they would need to head to Lavender Town first due to how geography in Kanto worked.

Before you ask, the Pikachu that Lt. Surge gave Ned wasn't the same one that he used in battle...it was a Pikachu that was more fresh off the boats...if you get what I'm saying.

And yes, this particular Pikachu isn't claustrophobic, so Ned will be able to keep him in a Pokeblal...though like a certain other Pikachu he does love ketchup.

In the next chapter, our heroes will be heading to the Rock Tunnel...which in a few ways is Mt. Moon's spiritual successor.

Our heroes won't be encountering Clefairies there though...just a fighting type and a Pokemon that could give Gyarados a run for its money in sheer size...

And on a more sinister note...Lucy and Jake will also be heading towards Celadon City...I'm afraid things are going to get a bit more serious in this story once they arrive...I'm afraid.

But for now I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Have a good one! Peace!


End file.
